Electronic Health Reporter

In its general sense, healthcare includes efforts made to maintain or restore a person’s well-being, usually by a trained and licensed medical professional. And because of today’s advancements in technology and research, part of the proper administration of healthcare to patients is healthcare fulfillment. 

 What Is Healthcare Fulfillment? 

Healthcare fulfillment showcases healthcare’s ability to organize pharmaceutical and other medical orders from patients and healthcare providers through item inventory and medical supplies management and shipping. 

For example, patients can order their medical supplies online instead of going to a medical branch with the help of a small warehouse or a third-party logistics (3PL) company. Software that administers patient orders can validate the data they receive by checking any recent prescription on file. They can also verify if the patient’s order is required per medical necessity. Furthermore, employees can observe the order’s status without checking a physical warehouse, saving more time.   

You can find out more about this kind of software by checking sites such as www.softeon.com/softeon-warehouse-execution-system-wes.  

 Healthcare Fulfillment Challenges 

Much like any innovation, while it can be beneficial, it also comes with a few challenges. To name a few, here are some of them: 

• Incorrect Order Information 

Unlike other products that a person can order online, medical supplies require validation from a licensed medical professional to ensure that the patient needs them for their treatment. For example, 3PL companies only approve an order placed by a patient if the prescription their physician sent out includes the products that the patient mentioned.  

In some cases, incorrect order placing happens because some patients may find codes challenging to understand and confuse the drugs their doctor mentioned with names that sound familiar yet different. 

• Receiving Defective Products/Supplies

Certified manufacturers produce various medications and supplies that a patient would need as part of their treatment. Such companies ensure that the products they send out to their clients are in the best condition. Even so, their customers might receive their orders with noticeable damages because of instances related to shipping or transport like weather conditions and rugged roads for shipping.

• Glitches On 3PL Company Software

3PL company software generally gathers information about their warehouse stocks available for delivery aside from customer order details. If all documents required for completing the transaction are there, there will be no delays with the product delivery. However, some software encounters errors due to outdated data and other factors which may affect the documents stored for their customers for some time. 

For example, if the 3PL company software is currently encountering a glitch in their system, they may not receive any documents their clients send while the error is still not fixed. Also, employees who will check the order status of their customers may not be able to access their client information, causing a delay in the transaction.

• Invalid Documents On File

Since transactions for healthcare fulfillment are mostly done online, 3PL companies ensure that the documents they receive are legitimate. They impose policies that serve as a guide to validate the documents they receive. If they didn’t meet their conditions, the document would be tagged as invalid, and the 3PL company will ask for a new record from either the patient or the doctor.

For example, if the prescription the physician sent has an erasure but no corrected date, the 3PL company software may consider the data invalid. Reaching out to the patient’s physician may take some time, causing the order to encounter delays.

Healthcare Fulfillment Opportunities 

Regardless of the challenges, there are a lot of opportunities technology and healthcare fulfillment can offer. 

To start, with healthcare fulfillment, a small warehouse or a 3PL company can: 

• Check Out Saved Orders Accordingly 

Patient/Healthcare provider information can be logged in a software, showing the received order details and status, the current quantity of supplies, and other documents needed to issue shipping without needing to visit a physical warehouse. 

• Conduct Order Transactions With Less Hassle 

Patients who like to place their orders no longer need to hustle with other customers. They only need to visit a website to place their order details. Also, the company receiving their order information can reach them without much effort, such as making them leave their homes.  

• Save More Lives 

Healthcare fulfillment can provide their customers with needed supplies in time despite their sheer numbers. With that, more people can get the supplies they need for medical treatment. 

• Elaborate Medication And Other Medical Supplies Information

Aside from their general physician prescription, a 3PL company software can discuss their product information that is easy to understand to patients. Their website can tell the benefits of a particular drug and how many a patient should take to prevent overdosage. Also, they can elaborate on how to use the medical supplies their clients order correctly.

 Conclusion  

Healthcare fulfillment aims to organize medical supplies that patients need with the help of 3PL companies and other entities. With the use of technology and research, it can become more accessible and practical to many.