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Peter Pronovost, MD, Ph.D., the chief quality and clinical transformation officer at University Hospitals offers his insights into how to achieve advanced value-based care. According to Pronovost, “Healthcare is riddled with mindless variation.”
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Editor-in-chief of Inc., Scott Omelianuk, said, “Building one of the fastest-growing companies in America in any year is a remarkable achievement, but building one in the crisis we’ve lived through is just plain amazing. This kind of accomplishment comes with hard work, smart pivots, great leadership, and the help of a whole lot of people.”
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In the article, Johnson uses the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks to reflect on the lives that could have been saved if the Federal Aviation Administration had required commercial airlines to harden their cockpit doors before the attacks. Before 9-11, the extra expense was viewed as unnecessary, but after, essential. (more…)
Given this, I think it is fitting to share some recent findings about how the care nurses provide can be significantly impacted by healthcare logistics or courier services. A couple of months ago, we partnered with American Nurse Journal, the official journal of the American Nurses Association, to survey nurses to better understand how logistics and courier services impact those incredibly important frontline healthcare workers. And while we thought we had a reasonable idea of what they encounter, the results were pretty staggering.
Healthcare logistics—the movement of critical materials including lab specimens, supplies, pharmaceuticals and surgical equipment—impacts the delivery of patient care far more than most would expect, the survey results indicate. According to the 353 nurse respondents:
- 87% said that medical courier deliveries—or lack thereof—impacted their work weekly
- 71% said a medical courier delay or error impacts their ability to provide patient care at least once a month
- 65% have had to collect another specimen/sample for testing
- 56% have had to reschedule a patient procedure in the past year
- 19% said that errors or delays impacted their ability to provide patient care five or more times per month
Here’s the thing: healthcare logistics is too often considered a cost center when it is actually a vital part of delivering care. That is why we have invested (and continue to invest) in our infrastructure, to ensure that our entire system drives quality and reliability. Our error rate—a very small fraction of the industry average—enables us to support healthcare professionals, like nurses, to provide better care.
When choosing a logistics provider can mean the difference between enabling effective healthcare or hindering it, our company’s mission “to deliver health” is more critical than ever. Our entire team salutes the incredible care that nurses provide to patients every day. We are gratified to know that in supporting their work we make a meaningful contribution to better healthcare and better health every day.
“Healthcare logistics is often viewed as a cost center, rather than a vital part of delivering care,” said Jake Crampton, CEO of MedSpeed. “However, when you look at what nurses said in this survey, the role of logistics becomes evident.” Crampton continued, “That intrinsic link to care delivery guides MedSpeed’s mission and our commitment to investing in the infrastructure that drives quality and reliability and enables clinical effectiveness.”
The American Nurse survey found that 56% of nurses have had to reschedule a patient procedure in the past year because of medical courier delays or errors, while 65% have had to collect another specimen/sample for testing.
Crampton added, “This survey also shines a light on the financial impact logistics has on care delivery, especially when you consider the cost in delays to procedures. Couple that with the harm that negative patient reviews could have on a healthcare organization’s competitive position, and it becomes clear that partnering with a provider like MedSpeed—with an error rate that is a small fraction of the industry average—can drive profound savings for a health system.”
Courier issues also prevent nurses from operating at the top of their license by forcing them to resolve problems and issues that are beyond their control. A different survey found that 72% of nurses said they were experiencing burnout before the pandemic, and 90% were considering leaving the already critically short-staffed nursing profession within one year if issues go unaddressed.
The anonymous survey of nurses was conducted by American Nurse, the official journal of the American Nurses Association, on behalf of MedSpeed from February 1-28, 2022.