IDN Summit (IDN): What is the number one area supply chain professionals should be focused on to impact the quality of care within their health system?

Mike Langlois (ML): Supply chain professionals in healthcare need to establish a great working relationship with the Physicians that take care of their organization’s patients. It starts with common goals and objectives between the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Supply Chain Officer. Great patient outcomes should be priority one.

Once that objective is agreed upon, working with the CMO and other key physicians within any organization on cost reduction initiatives and opportunities becomes much easier. Physicians influence a large percentage of the overall expenses of any hospital and need to be engaged in decisions that affect their patient care. By providing them with accurate and timely data increases the likelihood of successful cost reduction initiatives.

IDN: What changes or industry trends do you anticipate relative to supply chain distribution models? Do you anticipate an increase in disintermediation?

ML: I do not believe we can sustain the existing distribution models as hospitals are continuing to face severe cost constraints and need to reduce expenses in every area. Med-surg distributors are working on very thin margins and are looking to other sources of income such as private labeling commodity products and data management programs. I believe we will see more “Regional” or “IDN” self-distribution models and yes, an increase therefore, in disintermediation from the traditional distributors.

IDN: There is so much talk about business intelligence, data integration, and transparency, how do you think the healthcare supply chain is adapting?

ML: SLOWLY – Data is “king” in every industry and no one in the healthcare supply chain is willing to share their data. Whether it’s the manufacturers, GPOs, suppliers or hospitals, everyone is keeping their information close to the vest. Until we solve the “data protectionism” problem, we will continue to have a broken system. Many other industries, such as the automotive and retail industries, are light years ahead of healthcare when it comes to transparency of data and business intelligence.

IDN: You’ve taken some time off from the day-to-day leadership of a large health system supply chain. During this time away what are the ‘take-aways’ you’ve discovered during this time of reflection? Has this period benefited you in becoming a better leader and how?

ML: I believe the time off has helped me immensely. After almost 32 years of continual work in the healthcare supply chain industry, it’s been great to “take a break.” I have re-entered the supply chain market with much more enthusiasm and a much better sense of confidence as to how I would like to help move the industry forward. I have truly enjoyed my time at Resurrection Health Care and would love to spend more time in the future assisting with the education of healthcare supply chain professionals and providing advice on strategy and operational modeling. I am happy that I explored the healthcare recruitment field, but have determined that supply chain is truly my passion.

IDN: Any last thoughts you’d like to share?

ML: Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.