By Arun Ghosh, Advisory Principal, U.S. Blockchain Leader, and Ketan Patel, Advisory Principal, Healthcare, KPMG
Emerging technologies, such as analytics and blockchain, that are helping healthcare providers navigate supply chain issues regarding personal protection equipment (PPE) and medications that have affected Houston and different areas in the country, especially as new cases of COVID-19 spike.
As healthcare organizations continue to struggle with coronavirus (SARS-COV-2), questions remain about the growing number of cases and how supplies can be obtained. In late-June, Harris County reported more than 15,000 active cases of COVID-19, approximately 8,700 people recovered, and 335 deaths from the condition. The dynamics can change as the condition evolves and different healthcare facilities face different circumstances, regarding PPE needs.
PPE shortages have revealed some of the shortcomings about supply chains that have been built on economics rather than resiliency, as media reports revealed shortages of gear to protect employees in March and continuing issues lingering into June.
Many programs and processes for managing inventory lack sophistication around demand forecasting and/or fail to provide transparency needed among trading partners. Some of these systems are also not as well automated as they can be. Access and visibility into PPE inventory and supplies to prevent the spread of coronavirus requires an adaptive and precision-driven supply chain for organizations of any size obtain materials such as face shields and surgical masks. It’s one thing for the public being unable to find face masks at a retail store, but at a healthcare provider, it becomes a crisis.
Compounding these new imperatives is an enduring inability for organizations to authenticate supplier information due to poor visibility into production, inventory and distribution management, which is creating general concern for product availability and authenticity, as well as uncertainty around historic reporting measures.
Emerging technologies can enhance visibility of product movement across the supply chain, from manufacturer to distributor to patient or provider; verify product authenticity and manufacturing specifications; and eventually support automated analyses for inventory optimization to identify potential problem areas before they lead to shortages. The notion of trust becomes very important during a pandemic and technologies can support that effort with trading partners about product quality and getting the necessary products on time. These are some of the technologies that can have a role in helping healthcare providers strengthen their supply chain:
- Blockchain – While this technology is well known for crypto-currencies, blockchain has utility for inventory management to serve as a “record of truth” among all parties that cannot be altered. The software acts as a shared ledger among trading partners in a secure format, so buyers and sellers of products know how much of a product is being shipped and its location in real-time.
- Internet-of-Things – Routine gadgets are increasingly connected online. Connectivity with internet-enabled sensors can help ensure that medicines are not exposed to excessive heat or other environmental factors that would render them useless.
- Data & analytics – The ability to draw from a multitude of data sources can lead to much better business informed decisions with the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
- Cloud technology – Healthcare providers do not necessarily need to store their data with onsite servers. The above technologies are largely done on cloud computing platforms. HIPAA-compliant cloud tools offer the healthcare industry adaptability, cost efficiency, remote file sharing, custom applications, and enhanced storage.
The technologies can be implemented alone, but work effectively when combined.
The opportunity and outcomes
Technology can connect these disparate systems into one digital trust infrastructure, where they can more easily verify supply chain activities – especially those related to treatment and personal protection equipment (PPE) production.
Data & analytic capabilities can help executives with projecting Covid-19 case surges, while providing insights about the demand for certain medications and PPE. Analytics can also be tailored to reflect the needs of the users, depending upon where organizations stand in terms of acute care, post-acute care, outpatient or delivering care at home. Each organization has different populations employee protection needs to consider.
COVID-19 spikes can also be translated to identify what experimental treatments can be redirected to local patient clusters or clinical trials with the help of verified and real-time data used for artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics, and product movement traced by blockchain. Blockchain’s shared ledger capabilities can connect manufacturers, distributors and healthcare providers to prevent product counterfeiting and diversion of products. The Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) requires drug makers to be able to track and trace medications by 2023 and some recent FDA pilot programs showed blockchain’s applicability in a complex supply chain.
KPMG anticipates that converging technologies will continue to support healthcare organizations with assessing demand for products, providing visibility into the best approach for treatment, preventing fraud, and ultimately, building trust among patients and stakeholders. Yet, more broadly, emerging technologies will aid communities, organizations and individuals on the path to recovery from the impacts of COVID-19, and as part of new strategies that mitigate future global disruption.