Healthcare Supply Chain Best Practices Podcast

This podcast got its start when an industry colleague introduced me to Mark Litton to talk about his unique approach to working with rural and smaller hospitals. Mark is CEO of Howard Medical Company and founder of the Independent Link Coalition, an AHRMM-backed peer network for supply chain leaders at independent hospitals. His passion for his work with hospitals, his distribution company, and his association impressed me right away, so I invited him to write for Healthcare Value Analysis and Utilization Management Magazine. The result was an outstanding article in our May 2026 issue — so engaging that I asked Circe Calvin, CEO of Insights Consulting, to join me in interviewing Mark on the Healthcare Supply Chain Best Practices Podcast so listeners could learn more about him and the organizations he represents. Mark does not disappoint!

Welcome to the Healthcare Supply Chain Best Practices Podcast! We have a very special episode today featuring a guest who is a true veteran of the Value Analysis space. Joining us is Stephen Kinsella, President of Data Leverage Group and the innovator behind VAMS (Value Analysis Management Software)—a name many of you know well. Steve and I have been discussing the shifting landscape of our industry for some time, and today, we’re finally sitting down to dive into the 'What’s In and What’s Out' of Healthcare Value Analysis. Based on our work with leaders across the country, we’ve packed this episode with the insights you need to stay ahead of the curve.

In this podcast we are joined by Angelique Beslic who is the Executive Consultant and Principal of Bridge Ventures, LLC, a Supply Chain Leadership and Education Organization. Angelique is also the Sr. Director of Supply Chain for Legacy Health. In her leadership role, her duties include all levels of procurement, contracting, strategic sourcing, clinical value analysis, and decision support. During our podcast, we delve into topics like clinical value analysis, a clinically integrated supply chain, integrating CVA into systems and daily decision making, trust between clinicians and Supply Chain, the cost vs. outcomes myth, clinical and operational service line governance (COSL), and much more!

Hospitals today typically contain hundreds of storage rooms and thousands of supply bins across multiple, geographically dispersed facilities in their health system. This translates to hundreds of thousands of paper labels that need to be manually updated and printed by already overburdened staff whenever there’s a change in item status, description, supplier, etc. One major impact of such antiquated methods of supply chain management is that it’s impossible for the item’s information to be updated in real time due to being dependent on deployable staff to travel to these sites to make the changes. Any updates on sensitive data such as back orders, recalls, or discontinued items (and indication of available substitutes) can’t possibly be handled in a timely manner with paper labels. As a result, there’s a much greater risk of not having on-hand the items that are needed for patient care. Electronic shelf label (ESL) solutions are a game-changer because they provide real-time item status and alerts, remote updates at the push of a button, and automated reordering. ESLs save time for both supply chain and clinical staff that would otherwise be spent on manual and low-value-added inventory tasks. They ensure item availability and safety (not recalled, not expired) and free up clinical staff to dedicate more attention and time to patients. Advanced ESL systems also have built-in replenishment signals to ensure that par levels are accurate and stockouts are prevented. They also allow for voice commands to guide the staff to needed items in crowded supply rooms in seconds using blinking LED lights on the ESL.

Recall management is a challenging area for healthcare organizations throughout the country as there is no set methodology, workflows, standardized tools, or training. Healthcare organizations are now developing their own recall management processes, workflows, and problem-solving tools. Luckily, a group of large health systems have gotten together to form the Recall Management Interest Group (RMIG) to help solve all the issues surrounding recall management and create best practices. This round table interview discussion today is with three Healthcare System Recall Management Leaders who are taking this challenging area to task and solving the challenges that have turned RMIG into a major positive force for advancing recall management in our industry.Click here to read the full article.