دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی سنجش عملکرد لجستیک زنجیره تامین بیمارستان داخلی - نشریه الزویر

abstract

The patient care processes in hospitals are supported by a range of operational activities including inventory management and distribution of supplies to point-of-care locations. Hospitals carry large amounts and a great variety of items, and the issues of storing and distributing these items throughout the hospital supply chain are of great importance to providing high-quality patient service. Healthcare logistics encompasses the process of handling physical goods (e.g. pharmaceuticals, surgical medical products, medical equipment, sterile items, linen, food, etc.) and the associated information flows, from the reception of the goods within a hospital to their delivery at patient care locations. The medical supply costs constitute the second largest expenditure in hospitals, after personnel costs. A high-performing supply chain may realize improved outcomes (e.g. safe and quality patient service) and greater efficiency. Logistics managers need to identify opportunities to improve the logistics processes in order to lower costs and to improve patient care quality. However, in order to improve the logistics processes, you must understand how the healthcare supply chain is currently performing. Measuring the performance of the supply chain is fundamental to identify and address deficiencies in the logistics activities, and it serves as a good input for managerial decision-making. The purpose of this article is to present existing research on performance measurement at the internal hospital supply chain (e.g. inventory management, distribution activities), and more specifically in the operating theatre since it is among the most critical resources for a hospital. At the operating theatre, the requested items should be available at the right time at the right place, in the right condition, at the lowest cost possible. Furthermore, we will also discuss literature on multi-criteria decision-making techniques. It enables researchers to build a performance measurement framework and to prioritize between multiple performance indicators since a diverse group of stakeholders with conflicting interests is involved in the internal operating room supply chain.

5. Conclusion

The literature study above is situated in the domain of supply chain management in healthcare, and more specifically at the internal hospital supply chain in the operating room environment. The internal supply chain is unique and differs from other industries. Interaction between clinical, material and information flows is essential for improving operational performance of the logistics processes and to obtain an integrated supply chain. Although patient care is the primary concern in hospitals, logistics-related activities are critical in ensuring safety, availability and affordability of supplies. The right supplies should be delivered in the right condition to the right patients at the right time. The operational functioning of the internal supply chain and the integration and coordination of the processes are vital to support patient care processes. Hospital materials management impacts clinical, financial and operational outcomes. With the supply costs accounting for as much as 40% of the average hospital operating budget, a well-defined supply chain strategy is needed to align the internal logistics processes and to efficiently control supply costs. In recent years, the costs associated with logistics activities, such as handling, storing and moving materials have increased and hidden stocks are held by clinical staff to avoid stock-outs [26]. Hospitals are forced to become operationally efficient in their operations. “Operational excellence is achieved through the use of best inventory management and distribution systems, combined with continuous supply chain process improvements and better integration with the patient care process” [55]. Integration and streamlining the supply chain is required to increase efficiency while guaranteeing high quality patient care. However, a lack of visibility of end-to-end performances of logistics processes, low product traceability, internal distribution problems, low ability to manage product utilization and a lack of data standardization make it challenging for logistics managers to achieve supply chain excellence [66]. Furthermore, a lack of coordination between several unit departments and little expertise in the operations research field complicate the efficient operation of healthcare logistics processes [62]. Coordination and integration between processes will positively contribute to the performance of the supply chain. Information technology and technological advances are essential tools to achieve an integrated supply chain [32].