Prodigo Solutions’ 2021 User Group Meeting – A Product Management overview of client feedback
Like the rest of the world, Prodigo had to skip its 2020 User Group Meeting. This year’s event brought the Prodigo community of clients, partners, and vendors back together in Charleston, SC for collaboration, learning, and of course a little fun. This annual event brings together leaders across healthcare supply chain to explore opportunities, share key learnings, and evaluate leading strategies for driving industry transformation. A lot has changed in our world since Prodigo’s 2019 event was held in Indianapolis, IN; however, some core priorities and discussion points remained the same – greater transparency, better access to quality data, and supply chain operational improvements to improve clinical efficiency.
Prodigo’s Annual User Group Meetings are exclusive events where clients gather to discuss pressing issues, emerging trends, and priorities within healthcare supply chains. Michael DeLuca, EVP of Operations at Prodigo says, “While Prodigo is the host, our intention isn’t to be the primary topic. The goal is to facilitate conversation among healthcare’s leaders to solve the issues of tomorrow through the shared experiences of their peers.” He went on to add, “By providing an intimate environment we are able to build community where we explore challenges, evaluate best practices, and share innovative ideas in a collaborative and energetic environment.”
The theme of Prodigo’s 2021 User Group Meeting, “Insights Into Action,” was focused on various related industry topics, including: “The State of Digital Supply Chain: The Healthcare Provider Prospective,” “Navigating ERP Cloud Migration,” and “The Benefits of Leveraging Data Standards in Healthcare.” Clients shed light on the importance of building responsiveness into their supply chains through improved forecasting, transparency, and vendor risk assessments to mitigate weaknesses in the supply chain that could be exposed in future disruptions.
Prodigo’s 2021 meeting included representatives from over 20 health systems. Analyzing the takeaways from these discussions provides insight into our path forward. Rising costs have amplified the call for transformation. Across the industry, supply chain costs as a percentage of Net Patient Revenue have increased by over 14% in the past 18 months putting pressure on the financial health of many health systems. In response, supply chain leaders are stepping up with ambitious strategies to overcome current challenges and future disruptors.
The risks and rewards of standardization.
When it comes to supply chain resiliency, what is the right balance between lower cost and increased risk from consolidation? For so long, supply chain has been focused on lowering the cost of items. Contracted savings are often tied to commitment levels to lower item costs and yield better price incentives (admin fees, rebates, etc.), but at what risk to the health system? Across the community, leaders are directing their supply chains to rethink lowest price strategies and revisit their approach to standardization.
Supply chain is vital to the overall “health” of any health system.
With all the recent disruptions, the “Supply Chain” continues to be the focus on just about every nightly newscast. At a macro level the global supply chain is struggling with logistics – moving goods from manufacturers to consumer. However, the past 18 months have proven that the success of a health system is dependent on the agility of its supply chain, at a micro-level, to respond in the face of product shortages and supply disruption. In addition to cost, leaders are now considering how sustainability parameters, like diversity and environmental footprint, should factor into sourcing decisions. As well they are dealing with other threats from globalization such as counterfeit goods and increased global competition for raw materials. At no time has transparency across the supply chain been more important to inform strategic decisions and ensure the “right” care of the patient.
Collaboration is key.
More so than any prior year, our clients came to talk, listen to each other, and learn from their peers. There is a new openness about our shared experiences and lessons learned that can be used to drive transformation across this industry. A rising tide lifts all boats and clients approached this meeting knowing that no one hospital had a perfect solution to respond to COVID-19 nor do they have all the keys to unlock what may come next. But, by building working relationships with peers from other health systems, they are able to approach problems with broader perspective and the knowledge that they are not alone.
At Prodigo we are very proud to continue supporting our clients with forums like our Annual User Group Meetings, the Community Portal, and educational webinars to encourage dialog, idea sharing, and ongoing innovation within supply chain. We look forward to seeing all of you in Nashville, TN in 2022.