Care Is Moving And Supply Chain Must Move Too

Care is moving farther and faster than most health systems are organized to support and the supply chain is right in the blast zone. We sit down with returning guest Karen Conway to talk through what she’s working on now, why she’s studying improv, and how those lessons translate into better listening, less bias, and smarter problem-solving in a high-stress healthcare environment where burnout is real and shortages still steal time and attention. From there, we get practical about the biggest healthcare trends reshaping healthcare supply chain management: site-neutral payment policy, reimbursement cuts, and the steady migration of procedures to hospital outpatient departments, ambulatory surgery centers, and hospital at home models. When care spreads across hundreds of sites, logistics and transportation become strategic capabilities, not backroom tasks. We also dig into rural healthcare and what Medicaid cuts and thin margins mean for access, technology investment, and the surprisingly high percentage of rural hospital budgets consumed by supplies. We close with the operational basics that decide whether any of this works: clean data, item master discipline, and electronic UDI capture. Karen explains why “AI will fix it” is wishful thinking without solid foundations, and how granular utilization data can uncover simple clinical changes that improve outcomes at low cost. Along the way, we explore supplier collaboration, risk management as a path to resilience, and emerging business models like servitization that can reduce waste while keeping organizations financially sustainable. If you found this helpful, subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review so more supply chain and healthcare leaders can find the show. Send us Fan Mail (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2336416/fa...)