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How Clarium is Helping Hospitals Navigate the Supply Chain Impact of Hurricane Helene

Clarium Health
Oct 7, 2024
Blogs
How Clarium is Helping Hospitals Navigate the Supply Chain Impact of Hurricane Helene
5:40

In the wake of Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact on the southeastern United States, healthcare systems across the country faced a critical challenge: a major disruption in their supply chain for essential IV solutions and other vital medical products. As the storm forced the closure of a key Baxter manufacturing plant, health systems scrambled to understand the scope of the impact and develop mitigation strategies. In this time of crisis, Clarium’s AI-powered data platform proved to be an invaluable asset, enabling our customers to rapidly assess the situation and take proactive measures to ensure continuity of care.

Proactive Response to an Unforeseen Crisis

When news of the Baxter plant closure broke, the Clarium team sprang into action. We quickly procured the list of affected items from industry organizations like AHRMM and our health system clients. Leveraging our platform’s custom tag feature, we created a “Baxter Helene Impact — 2024” tag and applied it to all affected items across our customer base.

This swift action allows our customers to:

  1. Easily filter and identify which of their used items are affected by the Baxter plant closure
  2. Triage the impact using comprehensive data available in the Clarium platform, including:
  • Current burn rates
  • Stock levels
  • Days on hand
  • Distributor stock levels and days on hand
  • Approved substitutes within the Clarium network

Increased Visibility and Resilience

The Clarium platform’s Disruption Monitor module, already a cornerstone for many leading health systems in managing supply disruptions, proved especially crucial during this event. By integrating the hurricane impact data with our existing wealth of information, we provided our customers with:

  • Real-time disruption signals
  • Intelligent insights and warnings
  • The ability to be proactive in procuring products or substitutes before stockouts occurred

This comprehensive view is giving Clarium customers a significant edge in maintaining supply continuity and, most importantly, ensuring uninterrupted patient care.

Disruption Monitor

Disruption Monitor queue filtered to affected items

Efficiency in Action

Our Substitute and Task Manager tools further enhance our customers’ ability to respond efficiently to the crisis. Health systems can:

  • Derive mitigation strategies based on internally approved substitutes, or recommendations from the Clarium provider and supplier network.
  • Create and manage tasks related to sourcing alternatives or implementing conservation strategies
  • Collaborate across departments using our platform as a central hub for hurricane-related supply issues

One of the most striking demonstrations of Clarium’s value during this crisis is our robust substitute management capability. Our analysis revealed that 74% of unique items affected by the Hurricane Helene disruption have a clinically approved substitute available within the Clarium network. When considering each item uniquely within a client, that number rose to 87%.

These statistics highlight the critical role that Clarium’s extensive network and substitute management features play in mitigating supply chain disruptions. By providing instant access to a vast array of approved alternatives, we enable our clients to quickly pivot and maintain essential supplies, even in the face of significant manufacturing disruptions.

René Gurdián, AVP, Supply Chain Finance and Strategy at Ochsner Health, shared their experience:

“When Hurricane Helene hit, we were facing a potential nightmare scenario with our IV solution supply. Clarium’s rapid response and comprehensive data integration allowed us to get ahead of the problem. We have a clearer picture of our exposure, available alternatives, and a roadmap for maintaining critical supplies while also learning where data discrepancies occur and how we improve our utilization of the Clarium platform. Their platform’s ability to provide actionable insights immediately with unified data from providers and suppliers is truly a game-changer for us.”

Continuing Support

As the situation continues to evolve, Clarium remains committed to providing our customers with up-to-the-minute information and support. Our platform continues to receive and process real-time disruption signals, ensuring that health systems have the most current data at their fingertips to make informed decisions.

The response to Hurricane Helene demonstrates the power of Clarium’s AI-driven approach to healthcare supply chain management. By combining comprehensive data integration, intelligent analytics, and a proactive stance, we’re helping healthcare systems not just respond to crises, but build long-term resilience in an increasingly complex and unpredictable world.

At Clarium Health, we’re proud to stand alongside our customers as they navigate challenges and continue to deliver exceptional patient care. Together, we’re building a more resilient, efficient, and responsive healthcare supply chain for the future.

Hurricane Milton

Looking Ahead: Preparing for Hurricane Milton

In line with our commitment to proactive support, Clarium is already working closely with our health system partners to plan and mitigate potential supply chain challenges posed by the upcoming Hurricane Milton. By leveraging our predictive analytics and extensive network data, we’re helping healthcare providers stay ahead of potential disruptions and ensure continuity of care.

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