Editor’s Note: This article originally was written in early 2003 but never published.

[5.15.2012] When Mitch Cooper thinks about achieving supply chain efficiency and ensuring patient safety he sees stripes – bar codes, to be exact – as the solution. And when he realizes that hospitals either just aren’t getting it or they’re just holding out he sees nothing but stars.

While stars and stripes shouldn’t seem out of the ordinary for a retired Navy officer like Mitch Cooper he admits that the fight to promote the need for and benefits of bar coding and Universal Product Number (UPN) standards has been an increasingly formidable, but still rewarding, challenge. And now he’s kicking his campaign into a higher gear.

[5.15.2012] I began my supply chain career in 1972 — the year I graduated from the University of Miami (pronounced Miam-uh by the old timers). For the past 34 years I have enjoyed a varied and interesting career, and over the next 12 months I will be sharing some of my experiences with you.

I’d like to start by recognizing some folks who have had a large influence on my career — my mentors and role models as it were.

Editor’s Note: This article originally was written in early 2003 but never published.

[5.15.2012] Sometimes he feels a little like Sisyphus rolling the stone up the hill as he tries to impart his message to an industry that seems to either not listen or resist his efforts. In fact, the primary difference between consultant Lynn James Everard’s efforts and that of Sisyphus is that people inadvertently push back.

But don’t think for a minute that these hurdles are slowing the pace of the healthcare supply chain’s own version of the straight-shooting, blunt-speaking Dr. Phil.