The integrated medical supply inventory control system introduced in this study is a hybrid system that is shaped by the nature of medical supply, usage and storage capacity limitations of health care facilities. The system links demand, service provided at the clinic, health care service provider's information, inventory storage data and decision support tools into an integrated information system. ABC analysis method, economic order quantity model, two-bin method and safety stock concept are applied as decision support models to tackle inventory management issues at health care facilities. In the decision support module, each medical item and storage location has been scrutinised to determine the best-fit inventory control policy. The pilot case study demonstrates that the integrated medical supply information system holds several advantages for inventory managers, since it entails benefits of deploying enterprise information systems to manage medical supply and better patient services.

Development of an integrated medical supply information system

Introduction Improving health systems performance, especially in low-resource settings facing complex disease burdens, can improve population health. Specifically, the efficiency and effectiveness of supply chains and procurement processes for pharmaceuticals, vaccines and other health products has important implications for health system performance. Pharmaceuticals, vaccines and other health products make up a large share of total health expenditure in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), and they are critical for delivering health services. Therefore, programmes which achieve cost savings on these expenditures may help improve a health system9s efficiency, whereas programmes that increase availability of health products may improve a health system9s effectiveness. This systematic review investigates whether changes to supply chains and procurement processes can achieve cost savings and/or improve the availability of drugs in LMICs. Methods Using the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews, we searched PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and the Health Economic Evaluation Database to identify. Results We identified 1264 articles, of which 38 were included in our study. We found evidence that centralised procurement and tendering can achieve direct cost savings, while supply chain management programmes can reduce drug stock outs and increase drug availability for populations. Conclusions This research identifies a broad set of programmes which can improve the ways that health systems purchase and delivery health products. On the basis of this evidence, policymakers and programme managers should examine the root causes of inefficiencies in pharmaceutical supply chain and procurement processes in order to determine how best to improve health systems performance in their specific contexts.

https://gh.bmj.com/content/bmjgh/2/2/e000243.full.pdf

Do changes to supply chains and procurement processes yield cost savings and improve availability of pharmaceuticals, vaccines or health products? A systematic review of evidence from low-income and middle-income countries.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence concerning: the relationships between decentralization, perceived environmental uncertainty, and management accounting systems (MAS) information and the relationships between MAS information and managerial performance within Egyptian hospitals. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using questionnaires that were sent personally to the managers or heads of departments of Egyptian hospitals. Departmental level was used as the unit of analysis. Data obtained from 200 hospital managers were analyzed using partial least squares. Findings – The study reveals that decentralization and environmental uncertainty, to some extent, are essential factors in designing efficient and effective MAS. Hospitals with decentralized structure make better use of timely, aggregated and integrated MAS information. Environment in which the hospitals operate does have significant influence on the type of information provided by the MAS. Research limita...

Decentralization, perceived environmental uncertainty, managerial performance and management accounting system information in Egyptian hospitals

Logistics and supply chain management has become a competitive tool in many industries in Thailand. Supply chain perspective has led the industry to see through the process integration from upstream to downstream. In Thailand, healthcare supply chain has only been introduced to hospitals. Operations and co-ordinations across players have still been neglected. The supply chain concept for this industry is in a very early stage. It is evidenced that healthcare industry in Thailand still suffers from inefficient process, inconsistent and inaccurate data information. Lacking of transparency throughout the chain makes it difficult to track and trace patient data and product data. Furthermore, each player in healthcare supply chain, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, healthcare providers, tends to develop its own data communicating language. Therefore it discourages the player to communicate and share information with its partner. The lack of integrity in supply chain has become a facilitating factor for the growing problem of counterfeiting. It is undeniable that an influx of counterfeit drug affects both public and private sectors negatively. This problem not only leads to economic loss but also has a negative impact on patient safety in Thailand. The purpose of this paper is to review problems that occurred in healthcare area regarding to supply chain management and identify challenges. It is found that standardised drug coding, operational re-engineering and implementing information technology are promising performance improvement in healthcare supply chain. The paper develops a framework for healthcare supply chain improvement in Thailand. It urges both policy makers and implementers to realize national health problems as well as identify rooms for further research and

https://journal.oscm-forum.org/journal/journal/download/20141204233128_Paper_5_Vol_5_No_2.pdf

A Framework for Healthcare Supply Chain Improvement in Thailand

Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize prime just-in-time (JIT) elements in Indian healthcare sector based on the degree of importance and difficulty. This facilitates the implementation of JIT philosophy in healthcare services without any failure as well as provides quality services to patients at low cost.




Design/methodology/approach




JIT elements related to health care services have been sorted out from comprehensive literature survey. Moreover, important and difficult JIT elements have been ranked on the basis of score obtained by the quantitative method using statistical tools. Furthermore, validation and prioritization of important JIT elements based on the degree of importance have been computed using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and best worst method (BWM).




Findings




The present work provides important, difficult and easy to implement JIT elements in healthcare services. Besides, this work justifies the application of decision-making tool (AHP, BWM) for the prioritization of JIT elements in the health care sector.




Practical implications




The present study develops a deep understanding of JIT concepts in health care services. Furthermore, it motivates professionals for implementing JIT in healthcare services with healthy situation for both hospital and supplier.




Social implications




The present work is beneficial for all the dimensions of sustainable development (social, economic and environmental). The implementation of JIT with a proper understanding of its elements results in an improved patient care, lesser cost of healthcare delivery, time and better management of associated medical items. This work also facilitates the proper management of inventory items together with the reduction in various Lean wastes with the proper implementation of JIT in healthcare. The reduction in various associated wastes leads to cleaner surrounding and lesser environmental degradation.




Originality/value




This paper outlines the need of a robust JIT approach in the healthcare sector for quality services. The efficacy of JIT, AHP and BWM has been explored to find out critical elements for successful JIT implementation in health care.

Just in time elements extraction and prioritization for health care unit using decision making approach

Governments all over the world are getting increasingly concerned about their ability to meet their social obligations in the health sector. In this paper, we discuss the design and development of a management information system (MIS) to plan and monitor the delivery of healthcare services in government hospitals in India. Our MIS design is based on an understanding of the working of several municipal, district, and state government hospitals. In order to understand the magnitude and complexity of various issues faced by the government hospitals, we analyze the working of three large tertiary care hospitals administered by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. The hospital managers are very concerned about the lack of hospital infrastructure and resources to provide a satisfactory level of service. Equally concerned are the government administrators who have limited financial resources to offer healthcare services at subsidized rates. A comprehensive hospital MIS is thus necessary to plan and monitor the delivery of hospital services efficiently and effectively.

A management information system to plan and monitor the delivery of health‐care services in government hospitals in India

Purpose – Aims to give an overview of the re‐engineering of processes and structures at Gujarat Cancer Research Institute (GCRI), Ahmedabad.Design/methodology/approach – A general review of the design, development and implementation of reengineered systems in order to address concerns about the existing systems.Findings – GCRI is a comprehensive cancer care center with 550 beds and well equipped with modern diagnostic and treatment facilities. It serves about 200,000 outpatients and 16,000 inpatients annually. The approach to a better management of hospital supplies led to the design, development, and implementation of an IT‐based reengineered and integrated purchase and inventory management system. The new system has given GCRI a saving of about 8 percent of its annual costs of purchases, and improved the availability of materials to the user departments.Originality/value – Shows that the savings obtained are used not only for buying more hospital supplies, but also to buy better quality of hospital supp...

K.V. Ramani

Papers

A management information system to plan and monitor the delivery of health‐care services in government hospitals in India

Managing hospital supplies: process reengineering at Gujarat Cancer Research Institute, India.