Service modularity in managing healthcare logistics

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how modularity is used for enabling value creation in managing healthcare logistics services. Design/methodology/approach Material logistics of four different kinds of hospitals is examined through a qualitative case study. The theoretical framework builds on the literature on healthcare logistics, service modularity and value creation. Findings The case hospitals have developed their material logistics independently from others when looking at the modularity of offerings, processes and organisations. Services, such as assortment management, shelving and developing an information platform, have been performed in-house partly by the care personnel, but steps towards modularised and standardised solutions are now being taken in the case hospitals, including ideas about outsourcing some of the services. Research limitations/implications This paper proposes seven modularity components for healthcare logistics management: segmentation, categorisation and unitisation of offerings, differentiation and decoupling of processes, and centralisation and specialisation of organisations. Thus, this study clarifies the three-dimensional concept of modularity as a cognitive frame for managing logistics services with heterogeneous customer needs in a rapidly changing healthcare environment. Practical implications Modularity offers a tool for developing logistics services inside the hospital and increases possibilities to consider also external logistics service providers. Social implications Managing healthcare logistics services through modularity has potential social implications in developing healthcare processes and changing the usage of health services. On a wider scale, modularity is helping healthcare systems reaching their goals in terms of service quality and cost. Originality/value This paper shows the context-specific antecedents of service modularity and the usage of modular thinking in managing healthcare logistics.

Getting closer by increasing distance: the dynamics of value creation spheres in health care logistics

“…Typically the actor who is to receive goods into internal supply chain is the hospital's central warehouse, which is traditionally located inside a hospital to ensure fast supplies and availability (Rivard-Royer et al, 2002). Furthermore, a central warehouse may also be closely connected to other support services, such as a pharmacy service (Volland et al, 2017), food supply, instrument maintenance, a laundry service and an assistive device service (Pohjosenperä et al, 2018). The central warehouse regularly delivers to the point-of-use inventories that are typically located close to patient care locations (Bijvank and Vis, 2012).…”

Key sources of operational inefficiency in the pharmaceutical supply chain

“…In addition, the perceived high level of wastage associated with pharmaceuticals significantly increases this cost (Papalexi et al, 2015;Cherrett et al, 2012); US$13.3bn is the estimated global medical waste management market in 2020 (Medical Waste Management Market, 2018). Literature indicates that the implementation of effective supply chain (SC) practices offers solutions to healthcare organisations and assists in facing this challenge (Pohjosenperä et al, 2018;Bhakoo et al, 2012).…”

“…The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/ 1359-8546.htm There have been a number of reported documents and articles suggesting initiatives that can potentially improve the PSC. Reviewing the academic literature, scholars investigating the PSC found that certain benefits can be claimed, including effective inventory control (Bam et al, 2017;Pereira et al, 2014), improved information reliability (Chowdhury et al, 2016), firm innovativeness (Papalexi et al, 2015;Gölgeci and Ponomarov, 2015), organisational performance (Birkie et al, 2017), reduction of pharmaceutical waste and increased quality of healthcare services, (Pohjosenperä et al, 2018;Volland et al, 2017;Breen and Xie, 2015). Similarly, to the treatise within the academic literature, from a practical perspective, healthcare institutes such as the Department of Health (UK) and the national organisation for medicines (Greece) have outlined a series of guidelines aiming to determine how best practices can be adopted to enhance the delivery process (Department of Health (DoH), 2014; NOfM, 2016).…”

Plenary Session Evaluator (PSE): A Problem Oriented Based Learning Approach

“…Moreover, ease factors are developed in the form of tangible or intangible sources such as the internet, mobile application, web applications, QR codes, IoT and several others; however, it can be stated that they are aimed towards the provision of solving problems of end-users. Additionally, [7], has delineated that technological advancement and modification in the modernization era have been notifying in different domains and vicinities. Such vicinities and domains are either related to health care, hospitality, education, management, business, and various others.…”