Blogs
May 5, 2025 / May 27, 2025 by Intelliguard
Our global medication supply chain is complex. With thousands of different drug products in circulation across small and large healthcare systems each day, it proves difficult for hospital pharmacies to manage medications accurately. However, keeping track of drugs on a daily basis is just one small piece of the medication management puzzle. Healthcare operations must also consider the very real possibility of major supply chain disruptions. While medication and healthcare supply shortages can be predicted and prevention, some disruptions—like natural disasters or labor strikes—are sudden and unpredictable, leaving patients’ well-being hanging in the balance. To provide the best patient care across the board, stakeholders must find a better way to respond to disruptions while avoiding critical supply and medication shortages.With top-of-the-line supply chain analytics software and medication management processes in place, hospital pharmacies can gain actionable insights to optimize resources and respond appropriately.
There are many moving parts throughout the medical industry supply chain. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) oversees more than 23,000 prescription drug products that are approved for marketing. However, most of the prescriptions drugs in the U.S. are not manufactured here. In fact, more than 75% of the active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturers—or companies that make key ingredients in prescription medications—are located outside the U.S., which m makes monitoring even more challenging.In addition to the inherent complexity of supply chains, pharmaceutical supply chain disruptions and shortages are occurring more often. These disruptions and critical medication shortages can have real impact on clinicians, pharmacists, and even the most important stakeholders in our healthcare system—the patients. According to a 2022 survey by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 99.7% of pharmacists reported being affected by shortages of critical sterile injectables, and 7% reported at least one shortage-related medication safety event that caused some degree of patient harm. Additionally, studies estimate that more than 200,000 patient deaths annually are due to preventable medical errors.So, how can disruptions and their potential impacts on patient wellbeing be mitigated? Due to the increased likelihood of increased disruptions in 2025 and beyond, healthcare systems should be adapting in order anticipate issues and respond more effectively. But that can only happen if they have accurate data to drive their decisions. And that critical data is derived from interoperable, advanced software systems.
Supply chain data analytics is one of the solutions with potential to improve supply chain management. These are software systems that can transform raw, real-world data into actionable insights for decision makers, ultimately fostering an environment focused on patient-centered care. Effective healthcare supply chain data analytics software systems should have these five key elements:
By investing in the most up-to-date supply chain analytics software, hospitals, specialty pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers alike will be on the path to enhancing patient experiences through safer, more efficient care. With a system that combines automation with real-time data, clinical leaders can go from reactive to proactive inventory management and solve real challenges, such as inventory blind spots and staying ahead of compliance requirements.
What does the future look like with medication supply chain analytics software incorporated into hospital pharmacies? Let’s take a look at the benefits from operational and clinical perspectives.From Retroactive to Proactive Inventory ManagementBefore disruptions occur, pharmacies will already be prepared with better insights. Pharmacists can anticipate disruptions using data from higher up in the supply chain. With this knowledge, they’ll be better equipped to make smart purchasing decisions and ration medications during shortages.Day-to-Day Operational BenefitsOn a daily basis, pharmacies enhance their supply chain management practices by accessing accurate data from a centralized system. From there, they can use that data to calculate predictive analytics, optimize inventory levels, and prevent shortages or overstocking. Hospital pharmacies that utilize intelligent software solutions can reclaim valuable time and reduce risk. This happens because pharmacy technicians and other clinical staff are able to streamline the tracking and replenishment of critical medications and supplies across multiple hospital locations, ensuring efficient distribution from the central pharmacy to bedside administration. Additionally, systems with automated temperature monitoring can safeguard medication integrity, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.Improving Patient CareAt the center of these benefits is the overall improvement to patient care, specifically ensuring that hospital pharmacies remain focused on the “five rights,” which means that providers must ensure the right medication is given to the right patient, at the right dose, via the right route, and at the right time.
As we know, the healthcare industry is constantly advancing. And as we think about patient care over the next 10 years, AI-powered medication intelligence will likely become the gold standard. This is especially important in identifying drugs that have been recalled in order to keep patients out of harm’s way.Supply chain data analytics is a powerful, innovative solution that pharmacy managers can use today—and in the future—to proactively manage inventories with unprecedented visibility across the entire medication workflow. The bottom line: health systems that adopt intelligent medication management solutions will have a competitive edge in operational excellence as well as patient-centered care.