Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) announced today that it is launching a pilot chain supply chain network to enable hospital-level healthcare in people’s homes.
The Dublin, Ohio–based medical device and pharmaceuticals supplier is launching the Velocare supply chain network and last-mile fulfillment service through a strategic partnership with Boston-based Medically Home. Early this year, Cardinal Health joined Baxter, Global Medical Response, the Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente to invest $110 million in Medically Home.
Under the strategic collaboration, Cardinal Health at-Home Solutions is now supporting a Medically Home health system customer with Velocare.
More about Cardinal Health’s Velocare
Cardinal Health already had capabilities including global logistics and distribution expertise. In addition, it manages a large network of suppliers and vendors. Also, it has access to a wide range of home-based care providers.
The Velocare pilot will test new technology, new order-handling processes, small-format depots and short-haul delivery vehicles. Its goal is to enable safe and consistent hospital-level care in the home.
“We’re excited to further expand our at-Home Solutions supply chain and logistics excellence to now reach patients receiving hospital-level care at home,” said Rob Schlissberg, president of at-Home Solutions at Cardinal Health, in a news release. “With their mission of putting the patient at the center of care, combined with their differentiated supply chain network, Medically Home leads the way in bringing the hospital home. Our collaboration is driving scale and efficiency, and ultimately provides positive patient outcomes.”
Why transition to in-home care?
The idea is that people wouldn’t need admission into a hospital for certain conditions if there was proper infrastructure in place. Instead, they could receive in-home treatment for severe pneumonia, complicated urinary tract infections, cellulitis, blood infections, congestive heart failure exacerbations, and more.
Potential benefits of in-home care include cost savings due to reduced overhead and more efficient clinician protocols. In addition, there could be increased safety due to a reduced risk of hospital-acquired infections and medical errors. Plus, the patients themselves would likely be happier to stay inside their own homes.
“The ability to further scale the delivery of goods to the home will advance the rapidly growing hospital-at-home market, driving scale and efficiency for Medically Home’s high-acuity care model,” said Medically Home CEO Rami Karjian. “The complexity of supply chain logistics is one of the significant barriers to health systems providing hospital-at-home care to their patients. This collaboration with Cardinal Health further enables the transformation of the delivery of patient care, which is at the heart of everything we do.”