Medline CEO Charlie Mills talks healthcare, COVID-19 responses and more

Discussions on healthcare, supply chain and strategic partnerships

By Medline Newsroom Staff | April 30, 2021

Helping healthcare run better isn’t one size fits all, especially during the pandemic. Medline CEO Charlie Mills recently dove into the topic of healthcare, innovation and supply chain resilience in a series of interviews. Here’s a look at key themes to emerge.

Existing trends are accelerating
During a recent Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) roundtable discussion, Mills pointed to the ways the pandemic is accelerating shifts in the larger healthcare landscape. He cited the increased popularity of telemedicine appointments instead of in-person visits, and how patients are increasingly choosing urgent care clinics over hospital emergency rooms. Ambulatory surgery centers are also seeing a larger share of surgeries previously only performed in hospitals.

Greater transparency and collaboration in supply chain
Medline was better prepared than some for the equipment shortages that arose in 2020, but no one was prepared for a ten times spike in demand, Mills explained on an online event with the Executives Club of Chicago. The company identified the coming wave of demand early and was able to reach out to customers and strategize through any bottlenecks. Communication is crucial, especially when it comes to communicating supply challenges and potential solutions. Transparency establishes the trust necessary to build a more resilient and responsive supply chain.

Continued need to disrupt “the way it’s always been done”
On the SMI podcast “Conversations with…”, Mills discussed how Medline is committed to helping clients re-think the status quo. Whether that means educating clinicians at the exact right time to help ensure proper product use, or advocating for clients to think and work with their vendors like they’re all “one company”, Medline is more focused than ever on finding innovative ways to help healthcare run better. If the past year has taught us anything, it is that partners who approach problems strategically and find collaborative answers generally fare better during periods of rapid change.

Learn more about how Medline helps healthcare run better.

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Categories: Supply Chain

Medline Newsroom Staff

Medline Newsroom Staff

Medline's newsroom staff researches and reports on the latest news and trends in healthcare.

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