The COVID-19 pandemic has put the world economy at an unprecedented position and protecting society from the infection is at the core of all measures. As the COVID-19 virus stays longer on plastic and stainless steel materials, hence the healthcare wastes (HCW), coming out of the treatment of COVID-19 infected patients can be one of the potential route for transmission of infection. Therefore, the present study analyses the dimensions of sustainable HCWM by using a multi-method approach: PESTEL (political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal) analysis, TISM (total interpretive structural modeling) and fuzzy- MICMAC (cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification) analysis. The opted research framework yields 17 PESTEL dimensions of sustainable HCWM during the COVID-19 outbreak through the literature survey and experts’ discussions. Then, the TISM methodology developed a hierarchical digraph of all the 17 dimensions of sustainable HCWM based on the interrelationships. Fuzzy-MICMAC analysis classified all 17 PESTEL dimensions into four groups depending upon their driving and dependence powers. The study concluded that the policy framework for targeting political, legal and environmental issues should be the immediate concern of the worldwide governments and health officials. The effluent control and compliance to environmental laws being the output dimensions should be tracked regularly for ensuring the cleaner production in healthcare services. The PESTEL analysis will help the hospitals’ managers and policymakers to understand the macro-environment surrounding the HCWM.

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PurposeWith the rising needs of health-care (HC) services during the health outbreaks, it is essential to upgrade the existing HC delivery infrastructure. The study aims to prioritize and highlight the interrelationships among the key factors of the smart health-care supply chain (HCSC) by implementing the concept of Industry 4.0.Design/methodology/approachThe key factors of implementing Industry 4.0 in HCSC have been identified through extensive literature review and stakeholders' opinions. To achieve the abovementioned objectives, the present study proposed hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) tools, namely, the fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy- decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL). The Fuzzy-AHP prioritized the factors of implementing Industry 4.0 in HCSC, while the cause–effect relationships among the factors have been explored using fuzzy-DEMATEL.FindingsThe results of the study indicated that HC logistics management (HCLM) is the most prioritized factor of implementing Industry 4.0 in HCSC, followed by the integrated HCSC, then sustainable HCSC practices, HCSC innovation and technological aspects, HCSC institutional perspectives, HCSC competitiveness, social aspects and economic factors of HCSC. The cause–effect analysis has highlighted integrated HCSC, HCLM, HCSC competitiveness and social aspects as the cause group factors and they are the critical success parameters for implementing Industry 4.0 in the HCSC.Practical implicationsThe results of the study can be useful for policymakers, humanitarian organizations, health administrators and other decision makers considering the smartening of HCSC to enhance the operational performance of health facilities.Originality/valueThis is one of the few studies to have been conducted so far in which the subfactors of HCSC implementing Industry 4.0 have been identified and analyzed using the fuzzy-AHP and fuzzy-DEMATEL hybrid approach.

The importance of healthcare waste management in preserving the environment and protecting the public cannot be denied. Past research has dealt with various issues in healthcare waste management and disposal, which spreads over various journals, pipeline research disciplines and research communities. Hence, this article analyses this scattered knowledge in a systematic manner, considering the period between January 2005 and July 2014. The purpose of this study is to: (i) identify the trends in healthcare waste management literature regarding journals published; (ii) main topics of research in healthcare waste management; (iii) methodologies used in healthcare waste management research; (iv) areas most frequently researched by researchers; and (v) determine the scope of future research in healthcare waste management. To this end, the authors conducted a systematic review of 176 articles on healthcare waste management taken from the following eight esteemed journals: International Journal of Environmental Health Research, International Journal of Healthcare Quality Assurance, Journal of Environmental Management, Journal of Hazardous Material, Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, Resources, Conservations and Recycling, Waste Management, and Waste Management & Research. The authors have applied both quantitative and qualitative approaches for analysis, and results will be useful in the following ways: (i) results will show importance of healthcare waste management in healthcare operations; (ii) findings will give a comparative view of the various publications; (c) study will shed light on future research areas.

Purpose Nowadays healthcare waste (HCW) has become a big challenge for the hospital management, especially, in developing countries like India. Like other developing countries, Indian healthcare waste disposal (HCWD) industry is also fragmented, as some hospitals are having their own in-house waste treatment facilities and others are outsourcing the process to government authorized Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facilities. Literature also lacks the quantitative studies in selecting the HCWD strategy and, hence, the purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize the factors, which affect the selection of HCWD strategy and to propose the model to select the HCWD strategy and to apply the proposed model to select the HCWD strategy in Uttarakhand, Northern State of India. Design/methodology/approach Grey theory-based analytic hierarchy process approach has been applied to evaluate the HCWD options and select the appropriate strategy for the healthcare facilities (HCFs). Findings From the literature, six criteria have been used to evaluate the HCWD strategies: “access to expertise,” “overdependence,” “transportation & risk associated,” “Government rules,” “environmental factors,” and “economic factors.” “Outsourcing” strategic option (0.61) got the higher desirability index than “in-house treatment” (0.39). Research limitations/implications The proposed methodology can be used by the researchers and experts in the field to evaluate the strategic options and select the appropriate strategy. Practical implications The HCFs and other generators of HCW can select the alternative, whether they should treat the infectious waste in-house or they should go for outsourcing. Originality/value In the field of HCW management, this is the first study of its kind, which helps to evaluate and select the HCWD strategies. The proposed model has been applied in Uttarakhand, Northern State of India to make the comparison between “in-house” and “outsource” strategies.