Did you know that more than 1.2 million people Do you live in the role of the elderly? These people rely on elderly care centers to obtain appropriate drugs and good care. However, this is not always the case, especially when the elderly sponsorship role fails to implement the supply chain vision protocols.
Also read: How three -dimensional technology has a revolution in the supply chain
In the role of health care and nursing, the supply chain vision indicates the tracking, monitoring and management of health care products movement. This means that nurses should always know the place of medicines. In addition, they should be able to monitor environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity levels, to ensure that there is no poor supply.
Likewise, vision of the supply chain also includes strictly tracking inventory levels to ensure that basic drugs are not over or exhausted.
This article will expand in seeing the supply chain, its importance, and the challenges of implementation.
Understand the clarity of the supply chain in real time
In order to actually be the clarity of the supply chain, the elderly care facilities must use digital tools to collect and analyze data in the actual time.
In some facilities, seeing the actual time supply chain allows the follow -up of medications while manufacturing, charging, receiving, storing and using them. Using digital tools, employees can confirm that the correct offer has been requested, recorded and used.
According to American General UniversitySeeing the supply chain is necessary because it guarantees better results for the patient and reduces the errors of the drug.
Contrary to the common belief, the implementation of the supply chain vision protocols is not optional. Organizational bodies such as the Food and Drug Administration approved legislation that require medical facilities to ensure tracking in their supplies.
An example of this legislation is the Drug Supply Security Law (DSCSA). The law requires medical facilities, including the role of caring for the elderly, to implement a full tracking of prescribed medicines. Failure to comply with this law can suspend the license and criminal charges and lose the reputation of work.
The main benefits of vision in the actual time of drug safety
One of the main benefits of vision in the actual time of drug safety is that care homes can reduce drug errors through time arrival. For the elderly population, access to time in time is not just a comfort issue, but it is one of the safety.
In addition, the elderly are often prescribed several medications to deal with a wide range of diseases such as dementia, heart disease and diabetes.
According to the research conducted HHS General Inspector Office22 % of patients in the elderly homes faced negative events due to the desired level treatment and delaying the necessary care. This led to the return of the residents to the hospital, and they lost more than 200 million dollars.
Other benefits of vision in the actual time of drug safety are:
It improves storage conditions for medications
In the actual time, vision helps improve storage conditions for sensitive medications such as vaccines and some antibiotics. These medications require specific temperatures and moisture, or can become unsafe or lose effectiveness.
The insecure drug can harm the patient’s safety, which leads to death. Real -time supply chain systems can be discovered in temperature and humidity deformities and informing employees before affecting medications.
It enhances organizational compliance
By implementing the vision in the actual time, the elderly care facilities guarantee that they are compatible with the various regulatory requirements on dealing with medical supplies. Following these rules cannot lead to fines or legal procedures.
An example of the organizational requirements that apply to the regulations 42 CFR § 483.45 imposed Medicare & Medicaid service centers. According to these regulations, the elderly care facilities must provide pharmaceutical services from qualified employees. The regulation also states that appropriate procedures must be implemented to acquire, receive and store medicines.
It enhances operational efficiency and inventory planning
In the actual time, vision helps reduce excessive overcoming, purchasing emergency, and waste from the ended supplies. Employees can access live data at stock levels and trends of use. Live data enables elderly care facilities to make more intelligent purchase decisions, reduce costs and improve efficiency.
Challenges in drug supply chains, caring for the elderly and how to overcome them
One of the main challenges in the Aged Care drug supply chain is that multiple pharmaceutical and logistical providers use different systems. This makes the data fragmented and challenge the analysis. As a result, most elderly care facilities use data tables or paper records to track supplies.
This leads to recurring records and raises the risk of errors. The best way to solve this problem is to use one integrated platform that collects all data. The facility can then use tracking and analysis data in the actual time.
Cold chain logs and temperature sensitivity
Another challenge that affects elderly care facilities is sensitive drugs such as insulin and vaccines. These medications should be stored at specific temperatures and moisture.
If the temperature threshold is violated, the effectiveness of the drug can be at risk, which is a risk of serious health for the residents. To solve this problem, the elderly care facilities must implement the actual time monitoring to track and record environmental conditions automatically. These systems can adjust temperatures and sound warnings if there is an error in the system.
The future of drug safety in caring for the elderly
The most intelligent systems, the strongest regulations and cooperative care models will be the best future of drug safety in elderly care facilities. Also, predictive management systems will be created more to analyze the presentation data in actual time and patient data.
Management systems will help predict the medical needs of the facility and identify the population at risk before a problem appears.
The future will also witness the adoption of integrated digital ecosystems that link various manufacturers, suppliers and logistics service providers to one platform. This will reduce the decentralization of data, allowing the elderly care facilities to make better decisions.
Finally, there will be more striking regulations for tracking and accountability. Governments will also punish the facilities and owners who fail to adhere to these regulations.
In conclusion, vision of the actual time supply chain is the only way to reduce health care errors and ensure organizational compliance. The clarity of the supply chain reduces losses and improves the quality of life for residents.
The author biography
Leslie Barton is the clinical director and national training at Bunzl & AmhcWith more than 40 years of health care experience. A registered nurse, midwife, and a nurse specialist in continuity, moved to healthcare sales and department, education leadership in continuity, wound care, and medical consumer materials.
The Director of the Continution Foundation works in Australia and established the Clinical Care Connections program (CCC), where she plays a major role in developing education and training initiatives in ATLAS McNeil Healthcare to support best practices in clinical care.
