Round 15, and the Winner Is? The Ongoing Debate on Who Should Manage Medical Supply

This study attempts to disprove the paradigm that medical supply requires separate management under the control of the Army's medical community. Disproving this paradigm can result in immediate economies for the Army. In an era of shrinking resources these potential economies become more and more important as the Army strives to maintain readiness for future employment. Understanding how the Army's medical supply system evolved is central to understanding the medica! supply paradigm and eventually disproving it. Therefore, the study - begins by reviewing its history since World War II and highlights both current and future medical supply doctrine. With the system's foundation firmly established, arguments for and against it are thoroughly discussed, followed by a short description of its key components. These chapters provide the reader an understanding of the current system and set the stage for testing the assumptions underlying it. With this in mind, the last chapter, using historical as well as current literature, analyses the arguments and disproves the paradigm. The study ends by concluding that there are no substantial reasons; historical, organizational, or technical, for the separation of medical supply from the general supply system. The potential for integration Into the general supply system was recognized as early as World War II and the time is ripe for change. A shrinking budget, coupled with improvements in information management systems and high quality soldiers, is the recipe for change. It is no longer necessary nor cost effective to have a separate medical supply system.