How social supply chain will be a healthcare procurement gamechanger

The Social Supply Chain (SSC) is a vivid example of the need for healthcare enterprise IT to develop double- and triple-deep skills to avoid disintermediation by other departments or service centers.

What at first glance could be confused with the inventory of potential partners on dating sites has, in fact, become one of the most interesting convergences of marketing, social media, procurement, IT, and various healthcare provider and payer departments.

The coevolution of social media and supply chain has created a whole new suite of platforms that enable enterprises to leverage communications between customers, suppliers, and the general public to determine instantaneous ebbs and flows of product demand using social listening and trending techniques.

While SSC isn’t new in many industries, strategies for deploying it in healthcare are still in the embryonic stages. It is also easy to confuse the established social media monitoring that marketing departments use to determine brand sentiment with listening specifically to determine short and long-term procurement needs.

It comes as no surprise that the social supply chain became mainstream during the height of the pandemic when it seemed everything was in short supply. Many providers used social media listening to determine the availability of masks and other clinical safety products. The chatter on major social media sites also provided intelligence on vaccine availability. More recently, SSC has been used in emergency management to monitor needs during natural disasters.

Not unlike the myriad of other digital health strategies enterprises grapple with, IT and supply chain leadership admit that SSC can be a game changer. Unfortunately, most are paralyzed by determining where to start, who leads the charge, and how to measure ROI when they pull the trigger.

Key elements in developing a scalable SSC strategy

Real-time Communication and Collaboration

Emergency Response: Social media platforms can facilitate rapid inbound and outbound communication during emergencies, allowing for quick coordination between hospitals, suppliers, and government agencies. More recently, the supply chain includes sudden workforce demands that occur during certain enterprise stressors in addition to traditional supply and medication needs.

Enhancing Patient Care and Engagement

Patient Feedback: SSC can be a valuable tool for gathering patient feedback about their experiences with medical products and services, which can inform supply chain decisions about which products are meeting with patient/customer resistance.

Health Education and Literacy: Providing accurate information about medical products, their usage, and health tips through social media can improve patient engagement and adherence to treatment plans. At the same time, making healthcare consumers more literate on treatments and procedures can reduce unnecessary investment in ineffective or bogus products.

Supplier Monitoring: Social media can be used to monitor the reputation and performance of suppliers, identifying potential risks and ensuring quality standards.

Facilitating Crowdsourcing and Innovation

Crowdsourcing Solutions: The power of the “swarm” was proven by the far-flung treatments around the world during the pandemic. This provided a unique window into unique supply and pharma needs that would have never been there under normal circumstances. It also gave manufacturers a jump on ingredients they would never have thought about in their labs.

Enhancing Transparency and Accountability

Public Reporting: Using social media to publicly report on supply chain issues, such as delays or shortages, can enhance transparency and build trust with patients and stakeholders.

Corporate Social Responsibility: Companies can use social media to showcase their efforts in improving healthcare supply chains, such as sustainable practices or community support initiatives.

Implementation Strategies

Dedicated Social Media Teams: Where is the organizational center of gravity for SSC? Surely, having the best social media monitoring talent is critical regardless of whom they report to. However, establishing cross-departmental teams responsible for managing social media presence and engaging with stakeholders is the central nervous system for success.

Data Analytics: Measuring the effect of social media on enterprises of all types has been a challenge. Many of these measures are what have been called vanity metrics based on likes and followers. SSC must go much deeper in its influence metrics and reflect a more direct influence on patient outcomes or disease prevention.

Partnerships and Influencers: Social media influencers have become very controversial in many circles and healthcare is no different. That said, the power of a reputable subject matter expert as a source of truth in an SSC strategy cannot be underestimated. Thought leaders can be the enriched uranium that powers engagement and stimulates future supply trends and needs.

Challenges and Considerations

Privacy and Security: Social media always carries the risk of patients providing otherwise personal information into the public domain. As one who was very active as a COVID advocate, I was constantly shocked at how open victims were about their conditions. This HIPAA-be-damned mentality is a key data privacy challenge along with hackers scraping personal data and social media contact information.

Regulatory Compliance: Most payers and providers have stringent policies about social media usage from both the output side and regarding communications with patients and consumers. In the past four years, we’ve seen greater attention by policymakers on the effect of “big (social) media” on the flow of unreliable health information that would affect the supply chain.

By integrating social media into healthcare supply chains, organizations can enhance efficiency, improve patient outcomes, and foster a more responsive and resilient supply chain.