Modern Healthcare makes the lists. This year, Medline checks them twice.

The company was doubly recognized this month in rankings spotlighting key leadership and innovation across the healthcare industry. Medline CEO Jim Boyle was included in the No. 24 spot among the publication’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare for 2024, and Medline itself was one of three honorees in the supply chain category of the newly launched Best in Business awards, which focus on the crucial contributions of vendors, suppliers and other healthcare partners.

The Best in Business rankings are based on quality, outcomes, efficiency, customer focus and innovation, as determined by a panel of judges that included active and retired leaders from healthcare organizations, associations and industry bodies. Industry peers and Modern Healthcare’s senior editors chose the leaders for the 100 Most Influential People list based on how those leaders drove advancements in patient care, healthcare policy and operational excellence.

Boyle, who joined Medline in 1996 and became CEO in October 2023, is the first Medline leader named one of the 100 Most Influential People since then-CEO Charlie Mills and then-president Andy Mills appeared jointly in 2021. Prioritizing customer service and growth in Boyle’s first year at the helm, Medline has stayed focused on its longtime operating philosophy: to provide its healthcare customers with high-quality products and services at lower costs. Those who have worked closely with Boyle inside and outside Medline aren’t surprised that Modern Healthcare would recognize his leadership.

“Jim’s ability to lean into partnerships, trust in the unknown and take risks to secure a better outcome is what makes him such an influence,” said Dan Hurry, president of Advantus Health Partners, a healthcare solutions and end-to-end supply chain management company. “His leadership and style are demonstrated through the people around him, the processes he oversees and the technology he backs. We all benefit from his collaboration and willingness to push the envelope, ensuring a future in which healthcare supply chain runs better.”

Amanda Laabs, executive vice president, Medline Brand, believes Boyle’s background as a sales representative and his recent industry engagements – including as a panel speaker in September at the Modern Healthcare Leadership Symposium in Washington, D.C. – have positioned him to address numerous challenges that the company and its partners face.

“Jim is always focused on our customers’ problems and how we can help solve them,” Laabs said. “And as a result, partners across the continuum of care value his opinion on healthcare solutions and want to hear from him and Medline.”

Added Steve Miller, executive vice president, supply chain: “‘Making healthcare run better’ isn’t simply a slogan – it genuinely drives Jim’s actions each and every day as he looks to take friction out of the system and make things better for our customers and, ultimately, the patients they serve.”

That’s also the driving principle behind Medline’s supply chain operations, anchored by teams who manage the flow of goods and materials essential for healthcare delivery from 50-plus distribution centers and 20-plus manufacturing sites across North America. Since 2018, Medline has invested more than $2.3 billion in supply chain infrastructure to meet the long-term needs of the healthcare system. It also has continually explored and implemented advanced technology at distribution centers (including the robotic order-fulfillment system) to optimize procurement, inventory management, logistics and overall efficiency.