An investigation of healthcare supply chain management and patient responsiveness

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to focus on the impact of supply chain (SC) integration, demand forecasting and supplier performance on patient responsiveness at public hospitals through the mediating role of SC flexibility. Design/methodology/approach To measure the above stated correlation, a Likert scale with five points and 23 items was used and structural equation modeling was applied. The scale was applied to public hospitals. Statistical software programs (SPSS 18 and LISREL 8.8) were used to analyze the data. The analysis of reported statistics is based on a sample of 129 logistics and SC specialists at public hospitals in the cities representing different regions of Turkey. Findings The research hypotheses are supported as a result of the analysis. The research reveals that SC flexibility has a mediation effect between SC integration, demand forecasting, supplier performance and patient responsiveness. Practical implications The increasing number of population, geopolitical position, migration waves, man-made and natural disasters lead Turkish health-care industry to have effective SC plans to satisfy the patients’ needs successfully and reduce the effects of these fatal events. In this sense, SC flexibility is an important factor for health-care industry in responding changing patient demands. At this juncture, the main point is to bring required resources together in the right place and at the right time. Otherwise, health-care institutions cannot serve the affected people because of the non-availability of supply. To achieve it, public health-care institutions should give more importance to the SC principles. Originality/value Success in SC flexibility in health care can directly affect patient welfare. Thus, focusing on the patient responsiveness is an important aim of the health-care industry. However, it was determined that less attention has been given to understanding patient satisfaction as a result of SC operations. The results indicate that patient responsiveness improvement should be included into strategic plans, and SC efforts should be used as a means of satisfying patient needs quickly. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the mentioned relationships at public hospitals. Findings of this paper will have a significant contribution for researchers and health-care professionals in understanding the impact of SC to patient responsiveness.

The contingency effects of supply chain integration on management control system design and operational performance of hospitals in Ghana

“…Supply chain management (SCM) has become prevalent in both the public and private health sectors in recent years because of its impact on enhancing operational efficiencies, customer satisfaction and quality of care as well as minimizing wastes and medical errors (Schneller .and Smeltzer, 2011; Polater and Demirdogen, 2018). The supply of medical products has also become critical to all hospitals so that performance in terms of costs, quality, responsiveness and patient satisfaction can be enhanced (Asamoah et al , 2011).…”

“…Using contingency theory, this paper develops an integrative model to capture the fundamental resources, capabilities of hospitals and their suppliers. Intensive integration between external partners and internal processes enhances hospital supply chain operational performance (SCOP) hence, underlies the basic motivation for healthcare SCM (Polater and Demirdogen, 2018). Thus, SCI has become one of the most important and critical areas for the chief executive officers (CEOs) and executive leaderships of hospitals (Barlow, 2010c).…”

Healthcare Supply Chain Reliability: The Case of Medical Air Transport

“…This applies to all components of the healthcare supply chain, which is the hospital’s main service. These include catering, laundry, maintenance, cleaning and patient transportation [ 22 ].…”

Identification and causal assessment of supply chain flexibility

“…The complexity of business increases more when customers have a variety of choices available in the market (Pearson and Sutherland, 2017). The customer demands are highly volatile in nature and can be catered with a flexible supply chain system (Ivanov et al , 2018; Polater and Demirdogen, 2018; Ye and Lau, 2018). Um (2017) made an attempt to analyze how variety management activities and supplier partnerships affect SC flexibility at different levels of customization.…”