Resolving logistics issues takes away from the time nurses could be providing care, new survey indicates.
Healthcare logistics affects patient care more than most would think, a new survey from American Nurse Journal has found.
Healthcare logistics is the movement of critical materials such as lab specimens, supplies, pharmaceuticals, and surgical equipment. Some 87% of the 353 survey respondents said the delivery, or failure of these materials to be delivered, affects their work weekly. Another 71% said it affects their work monthly.
Consequently, 32% of nurses have a stash of supplies in anticipation of late deliveries and 27% claimed they'd transported something to another facility themselves to avoid a potential delivery issue, according to the survey.
Other data revealed by the survey indicated that 65% of nurses said they had to collect another test sample from a patient because of an issue or delayed delivery, and 56% had to reschedule a patient's procedure.
The survey's results show a significant financial impact on care delivery, particularly the cost in delaying a procedure. The results also indicate that logistics errors take time away from nurses where they should be delivering care to resolve issues beyond their control.
Jasmyne Ray is the revenue cycle editor at HealthLeaders.