New MHA Grad Reflects on Hands-On Internship Experience

I recently interned as an assistant coordinator at Smile Center Harvard. Initially, I was in the marketing department for couple of weeks. Later, I worked in the administration department. The ordering of medical supplies and equipment was something I actively participated in when I worked in the administration division. I discovered that the process for ordering and stocking medical supplies was ineffective, which sometimes led to a delay in providing patient treatment.

I proposed the creation of an online buying system to resolve this problem because it would speed up the process and guarantee that all required supplies were always available. As part of this proposal, a full implementation strategy would be created with the supply chain, IT, and hospital staff. In order to create a full plan to provide to the hospital administration, we would need to research the possibilities that are accessible, find possible vendors, and put it all together.

The hospital would profit from the online ordering system's more affordable and effective medical supplies procurement process if it were to be implemented. Order entry errors would be less likely, and stockouts and overstocking would be less likely if the system had automatic inventory-tracking features. The ability to place orders whenever they want, from wherever they are, would give staff members more freedom and convenience.

With supplies being freely accessible and staff being able to concentrate more on patient care than supply management, patients would receive better care. The new system would need monthly maintenance, as well as any necessary system updates, and hospital employees would need to be trained on how to operate it. The efficiency of the procurement procedure at Smile Center Harvard would be significantly increased by the implementation of an online purchasing system for medical supplies and equipment.

Cost reductions, a decrease in order errors, automatic inventory tracking, and better patient care are all advantages of this system. I think that this idea would greatly benefit the hospital and, ultimately, prove to be a wise investment.

Divya Gopishetty ’23 MHA is a recent graduate of the University’s MHA program.