Mercy’s Supply Chain Innovation Recognized in Global Ranking

For the 13th consecutive year, Mercy has been ranked by Gartner, Inc. as a Top 10 global supply chain in health care. Mercy landed at No. 5 on the Gartner Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 for 2021 - the only health system to consistently rank in the top 10 since the rankings began.

In its latest report, Gartner highlights Mercy's high peer and analyst scores:

Greater focus on patient care alignment capabilities comes from effectively outsourcing the supply chain cost and service model. Commitment to service and standardization yields benefits like improved nurse satisfaction, increased efficiency and greater productivity. Foundational improvements in GS1 compliance enable better inventory utilization and charge capture.

Mercy sold its operational supply chain division, ROI, to HealthTrust in 2019. By effectively outsourcing the supply chain cost and service model, Mercy's supply chain leaders can focus more on patient care alignment capabilities. Specifically, Mercy continues to put a value on service and standardization in the basics of getting preference cards right and having a predictable service rate in the operating room (OR). Its integrated work with nursing to increase preference card accuracy seeks to improve nurse satisfaction, lower costs, decrease inventory and reduce the add-on items that cause staff to leave the OR suite in search of the product.

Foundational improvements in GS1 compliance made many of these next-step advances possible. In one study, Mercy indicated that GS1 compliance helped it improve inventory utilization by $4.6 million and charge capture by $13 million. We rarely call out individuals in the annual healthcare supply chain ranking, but it is also rare that the CEO of a health system has deep supply chain roots. Lynn Britton, arguably the founder of ROI, attributed $1 billion in savings to supply chain over his history with the organization. Britton retires this year as Mercy's CEO, leaving a legacy many followed on their path to maturity and developing many leaders in supply chain who still operate in the industry.

Mercy, named one of the top five large U.S. health systems for four consecutive years by IBM Watson Health, serves millions annually. Mercyis one of the nation's most highly integrated, multi-state health care systems, includingmore than 40 acute care, managed and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has 900 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 2,400 Mercy Clinic physicians and more than 40,000 co-workersserving patients and families across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

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