Digital intervention to reduce counterfeit and falsified medicines: A systematic review and future research agenda

Dynamic supervision of counterfeit products based on blockchain technology: A differential game on goodwill accumulation

Counterfeiting is a serious problem in many industries, and the annual profit and tax losses caused by counterfeit products in China have reached over 60 billion yuan. The focus of this paper is to study the effect of blockchain technology in terms of supervising counterfeit products as well as product quality and service decisions under blockchain from a dynamic optimization perspective. We consider the role of blockchain when disclosing product quality information and develop a dynamic optimization model before and after blockchain adoption using differential game theory. Meanwhile, we solve the model using the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation and backward induction and conduct parametric, comparative, and numerical analyses of the equilibrium solutions. The main findings are as follows: First, we find that in the absence of blockchain, counterfeit products can reduce brand goodwill and decrease the quality and service level of genuine products; however, supervising counterfeit product sales through blockchain can improve this problem under the critical conditions determined in this work. Second, in the direct sales mode, we find that if the unit operating cost and fixed cost of blockchain are small, the brand owner's adoption of blockchain can not only combat the counterfeiter's profit but also increase its own profit. Third, in the wholesale sales mode, we find that the best conditions in which a brand owner can establish blockchain are only related to the related costs of blockchain, while retailers also need to increase the selling price of genuine products when establishing blockchain. Fourth, we find that supply chain performance and blockchain supervisory effects are sensitive to key parameters through numerical analysis in a quantitative form. These findings have important implications for genuine enterprises in terms of determining the conditions for establishing blockchain to combat counterfeiting and for optimizing product quality and service decisions when using blockchain technology.

A computer architecture based on disruptive information technologies for drug management in hospitals

The drug management currently carried out in hospitals is inadequate due to several factors, such as processes carried out manually, the lack of visibility of the hospital supply chain, the lack of standardized identification of medicines, inefficient stock management, an inability to follow the traceability of medicines, and poor data exploitation. Disruptive information technologies could be used to develop and implement a drug management system in hospitals that is innovative in all its phases and allows these problems to be overcome. However, there are no examples in the literature that show how these technologies can be used and combined for efficient drug management in hospitals. To help solve this research gap in the literature, this article proposes a computer architecture for the whole drug management process in hospitals that uses and combines different disruptive computer technologies such as blockchain, radio frequency identification (RFID), quick response code (QR), Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence and big data, for data capture, data storage and data exploitation throughout the whole drug management process, from the moment the drug enters the hospital until it is dispensed and eliminated.

Food Quality, Drug Safety, and Increasing Public Health Measures in Supply Chain Management

Over the last decade, there has been an increased interest in public health measures concerning food quality and drug safety in supply chains and logistics operations. Against this backdrop, this study systematically reviewed the extant literature to identify gaps in studying food quality and drug safety, the proposed solutions to these issues, and potential future research directions. This study utilized content analysis. The objectives of the review were to (1) identify the factors affecting food quality and possible solutions to improve results, (2) analyze the factors that affect drug safety and identify ways to mitigate them through proper management; and (3) establish integrated supply chains for food and drugs by implementing modern technologies, followed by one another to ensure a multi-layered cross-verification cascade and resource management at the different phases to ensure quality, safety, and sustainability for the benefit of public health. This review investigated and identified the most recent trends and technologies used for successfully integrated supply chains that can guarantee food quality and drug safety. Using appropriate keywords, 298 articles were identified, and 205 were shortlisted for the analysis. All analysis and conclusions are based on the available literature. The outcomes of this paper identify new research directions in public health and supply chain management.