Current CIHL Projects
| Characterizing the Home Health Medical Equipment Supply Chain Investigators: Profs. Ashlea Bennett, Scott Mason Students: James Hilborn, Eric Pahn , Jessica Spicer, Behrooz Kamazli The Challenge: The ultimate objective of this project is to identify opportunities for improvement in the home health medical equipment supply chain, in order to achieve a better understanding of home health medical equipment demand patterns and delivery processes.
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| Data Standards I & II Investigators: Profs. Ronald Rardin, Nebil Buyurgan Students: Angelica Burbano, Danny Dixon, Paiman Farrokhvar, Mehmet Kilinc, Hayrettin Kaan Okayay The Challenge: Data Standards I -This project aims to foster healthcare provider adoption of GS1 data standards by partnering with 2-3 hospital groups having different operating, ownership modes and information systems to design, pilot-test, and evaluate how they can best become early GS1 adopters, including estimating the costs and gains in support process effectiveness and patient care/safety to be expected at those sites under full operations, extrapolating to a wider range of providers, and widely disseminating solutions, results, and lessons learned. The Challenge: Data Standards II -This project aims to achieve Level 3 Implementation and Secondary GS1, while exploring Dual Product Numbering and Hierarchies. Additionally, this project will implement Data Standards of other classes of healthcare products and operations by evolving best practices for adaption and use of GS1 identifiers in internal supply chain process automation for implantables, physician preference items, and high-value inventories used in emergency department and operating rooms.
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| Identifying Opportunities for Cost & Quality Improvements in Healthcare Logistics Investigators: Profs. Heather Nachtmann, Ed Pohl Students: Mark Kilgore The Challenge: As healthcare costs continue to rise, there is limited understanding of achievable cost and quality improvements throughout the delivery system. Healthcare supply chains are believed to be highly inefficient and expensive, but the magnitude of associated costs and quality implications are not well documented. The Challenge: EHCR Extension -The overall project goal is to recreate the EHCR cost and saving analyses for the purpose of assessing the nation’s current HCSC expenditures and projected savings and to compare the current HCSC financial situation to that described in the 1996 EHCR report.
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| Healthcare vs. Retail Supply Chain Gap Analysis Investigators: Profs. Manuel Rossetti, Heather Nachtmann, Ed Pohl Students: Server Apras, Tanvir Sattar, Douglas Marek, Fan Zhang The Challenge: The goal of the project is to identify and characterize the gaps between the retail and healthcare supply chains and to assess the potential impact if the practices associated with the gaps were utilized to a higher degree.
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Completed CIHL Projects
| Unit and Dose Packaging Systems Analysis Investigators: Profs. Russell D. Meller, Scott J. Mason, and Sarah E. Root Students: Jennifer Pazour and Yasin Unlu The Challenge: Medications are typically distributed by manufacturers in bulk, but to increase patient safety, they are often administered to inpatients in unit-doses and to outpatients in dose packs. A systems analysis is needed to determine the best manner for the implied repackaging and labeling of the medications so as to generalize best practices.
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| Receiving-to-Patient Hospital Supply Chain Digitalization Investigators: Profs. Ronald Rardin, Nebil Buyurgan, and Craig Thompson Students: Angelica Burbano, Josh Eno, and Behlul Saka The Challenge: Medical and surgical material handling from hospital receiving to the point of care is often fragmented, low tech, and ad hoc. This leads to inconsistent procurement and inventory control on the floors and wings, including unnecessary stockouts and outdates/obsolescence, in addition to excessive staff time spent foraging for materials.
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