An innovative procedure for introducing the lean concept into the internal drug supply chain of a hospital

Research on contactless intelligent medication pickup mode selection based on a hospital in China under COVID-19

BACKGROUND

During an outbreak such as COVID-19, hospital staff needs to be in close contact with all types of patients visiting the hospital and the risk of cross-infection is extremely high. Payment and medication pickup is a mandatory part of a patient's hospital visit, with direct contact between healthcare workers and patients, and long waiting times in the hospital area, which can easily lead to the spread of disease infection.

OBJECTIVE

This paper designed the prototype of a contactless smart medicine cabinet based on RFID technology and optimized the patient consultation and medication pickup process to address these problems.

METHODS

We conducted a 50-day field observation of patients for consultation and medication pickup at the First Hospital in H city, Jiangsu Province, China, and randomly timed 1600 sets of data from Surgery (ophthalmology) and Internal patients, then we designed the prototype of a contactless smart medicine cabinet based on RFID technology, optimized the patient consultation and medication pickup process, comparing the traditional and intelligent models using AnyLogic.

RESULTS

The results show that this contactless medicine cabinet was able to reduce the time taken by patients in consultation and medicine pickup by 18.74 minutes, increasing the overall efficiency of the consultation by 32.20%. The simulation revealed that this contactless intelligent medication pickup model was able to reduce the time taken by patients in consultation and medicine pickup, increasing the overall efficiency of the consultation, effectively reducing the frequency of contact between healthcare workers and patients, and reducing the risk of disease infection.

CONCLUSION

The proposed technical model provides a new idea to solve the problems of long queues, low efficiency and high risk of infection for patients to consult and get medicine during epidemics. Especially within hospitals it has important theoretical and practical implications for epidemic prevention and control as well as future hospital management.

Identifying resilience strategies for disruption management in the healthcare supply chain during COVID-19 by digital innovations: A systematic literature review

The worldwide spread of the COVID-19 disease has had a catastrophic effect on healthcare supply chains. The current manuscript systematically analyzes existing studies mitigating strategies for disruption management in the healthcare supply chain during COVID-19. Using a systematic approach, we recognized 35 related papers. Artificial intelligence (AI), block chain, big data analytics, and simulation are the most important technologies employed in supply chain management in healthcare. The findings reveal that the published research has concentrated mainly on generating resilience plans for the management of COVID-19 impacts. Furthermore, the vulnerability of healthcare supply chains and the necessity of establishing better resilience methods are emphasized in most of the research. However, the practical application of these emerging tools for managing disturbance and warranting resilience in the supply chain has been examined only rarely. This article provides directions for additional research, which can guide researchers to develop and conduct impressive studies related to the healthcare supply chain for different disasters.

Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare: A Systematic Literature Review on Motivations and Benefits

While Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has been applied extensively in healthcare organisations, there has been limited research on the trends of LSS application in healthcare in recent years. This paper aims to present the key motivations and benefits of LSS in healthcare with a view to highlighting the types of problems that LSS in healthcare can aid in solving. The authors used a systematic literature review (SLR) approach to achieving the article’s purpose. Peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2011 and 2021 are considered to achieve the study objectives. The systematic review helped the authors to identify the evolution, benefits, and motivations for LSS in healthcare. This work includes directions for managers and healthcare professionals in healthcare organisations to embark on a focused LSS journey aligned with the strategic objectives. This study is perhaps one of the most comprehensive SLRs covering a vital agenda of LSS in healthcare. This study provides all the deliverables of LSS for its successful deployment in healthcare.

The impact of counterfeit risk management on healthcare supply chain performance: an empirical analysis

Purpose

This study develops and tests a model exploring the relationship between supply chain (SC) counterfeit risk management and performance in the healthcare supply chain (HCSC).

Design/methodology/approach

In the proposed theoretical model, HCSC counterfeit risk management is characterized by HCSC counterfeit risk orientation (HCRO), HCSC counterfeit risk mitigation (HCRM) and HCSC risk management integration (HRMI), while performance is represented by healthcare logistics performance (HLP) and healthcare organization overall performance (HOP). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and survey data from 55 HCSC managers are used to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

HCRO has a significant positive effect on HCRM, while HCRM has a positive impact on HRMI. With respect to HLP, HCRM has a nonsignificant effect, while HRMI has a significant impact, thus confirming the important mediating role of HRMI. Finally, HLP has a significant positive effect on the overall performance of healthcare organizations.

Research limitations/implications

All study participants were from the United States, limiting the generalizability of the study findings to different countries or regions. The sample size employed in the study did not allow the authors to distinguish among the different types of healthcare organizations.

Originality/value

This study delineates between a healthcare organization's philosophy toward counterfeiting risks vs actions taken to eliminate or reduce the impact of counterfeiting on the HCSC. By offering firm-level guidance for managers, this study informs healthcare organizations about addressing the challenge of counterfeiting in the HCSC.

Application of a hybrid selective inventory control technique in a hospital: a precursor for inventory reduction through lean thinking

Purpose

The cost of providing healthcare is spiralling up in recent times. On the one hand, patients expect the highest quality of service, while on the other hand, the managers of the healthcare services want to minimise the total operating expenses. Hence, healthcare organisations implement lean thinking (LT) to achieve these twin objectives. LT reduces the eight wastes that are prevalent in the healthcare processes and functions. In particular, if the wasteful inventories related to expensive medical supplies are reduced, the resulting cost savings can help in providing affordable and accessible healthcare.

Design/methodology/approach

Hence, in this paper, a case study of a hospital is presented where LT is implemented. One of the projects was related to inventory reduction in the store of the catheterisation laboratory (cath lab). A hybrid methodology called multi-unit selective inventory control (MUSIC) that combined these three dimensions (3D), namely, consumption value, criticality and lead time or ease of availability was used to classify the medical supplies into different categories.

Findings

Based on the results obtained, various inventory systems and the associated tools and techniques of LT were proposed. For example, a deep dive into the A-class items revealed that some of the medical supplies fell under both vital and scarce categories. Hence, it was recommended that the case hospital should follow the economic order quantity (EOQ) with safety stock approach as these items were to be shipped from other states in India. Subsequently, the focus should be on developing a local supplier and attempts should be made to establish a kanban system with adequate information sharing.

Practical implications

This study demonstrates the step-by-step methodology of MUSIC-3D which would guide the procurement managers to apply the same in their organisation. It also helps them in identifying appropriate elements of LT for inventory reduction before the actual deployment.

Originality/value

None of the papers has utilised the MUSIC-3D methodology as a precursor for inventory reduction, specifically within the domain of LT. Similarly, identifying and proposing different type of inventory systems and various LT practices based on this unique method is a novel attempt.

COVID-19 outbreak: implications on healthcare operations

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic is considered a major disruptive event of this decade, raising unforeseen socio-economic implications worldwide. This novel virus has increased the influx of patients in hospitals, and healthcare organisations are facing unprecedented constraints in their operations to deal with increased demand and pressed capacity. Thus, this article evaluates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare systems' demand, resources and capacity and provides research directions.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a viewpoint article and uses timely information on healthcare operations from both scholars and managers, published by diverse sources during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Findings

The authors discuss the focus on “flattening the curve of infection” as a measure to protect healthcare, delay the impact of increased demand and reorientate healthcare supply chain practices. Furthermore, the authors evaluate the role of lean practices on managing demand and capacity and improving quality across healthcare operations and supply chain. Finally, the authors suggest research directions on modern operational issues that emerged during this pandemic, such as discussions around the sustainability of lean post-pandemic, “just in time” practices, inventory trade-offs and lack of organisational responsiveness during untenable events.

Originality/value

In this article, the authors provide a contemporary assessment of the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare operations, underscoring main economic and operational elements that can be affected, such as unforeseen demand, resources and capacity shortage. Therefore, the authors assess that healthcare organisations, practitioners and governments have to anticipate operational and economic impacts and, ultimately, to reassess their plans to deal with such adverse events.

Mitigating counterfeit risk in the supply chain: an empirical study

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to adopt a contingency theory from a quality perspective to develop a model for assessing the impact of counterfeit prevention efforts on supply chain (SC) performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the participation of 140 managers across ten industry sectors, a theoretical model is proposed and structural equation modeling is used to examine the relationships among SC risk management integration, SC counterfeit risk orientation (CRO), SC counterfeit risk mitigation (CRM), SC metric consistency (MC) and SC performance (service and cost benefits).

Findings

Findings suggest that firms with greater SC risk management integration have a stronger orientation toward counterfeit risk, greater maturity in CRM, more consistent SC metrics and better SC performance outcomes. CRO alone was not found to significantly improve SC MC.

Research limitations/implications

Results are based on managerial perceptions of SC counterfeit risk and performance metrics. Survey respondents were predominantly from the same country (the USA).

Practical implications

The paper represents a potential quality management framework for SC risk management, in the context of counterfeiting that includes a contingency perspective.

Originality/value

The study advances knowledge of how firms may address the challenging issue of counterfeiting in the SC. Empirical findings offer a firm-level quality management framework for managerial decision making in the context of counterfeiting.