Emerging Trends in Healthcare Supply Chain Management — An Italian Experience

Pinna, Roberta; Carrus, Pier Paolo; Marras, Fabiana

doi:10.5772/59748

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…This study defined SCM according to Pinna et.al. (2015) and Management Science for Health (2012) [10, 11]. SCM of POC diagnostic tests is therefore, defined to include POC test development, selection, forecasting and quantification, procurement, quality assurance, distribution, inventory management, redistribution, usage, and safe disposal of used test kits at the POC [10, 11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supply chain management and accessibility to point-of-care testing in resource-limited settings: a systematic scoping review

Kuupiel

Bawontuo

Drain

et al. 2019

BMC Health Serv Res

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Background World Health Organization (WHO) has created an essential list of in-vitro diagnostics. Supply chain management (SCM) is said to be the vehicle that ensures that developed point-of-care (POC) tests reach their targeted settings for use. We therefore, mapped evidence on SCM of and accessibility to POC testing (availability and use of POC tests) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods We conducted a systematic scoping review using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework as a guide. We searched PubMed; CINAHL; MEDLINE; WEB of Science; Science Direct; and Google Scholar databases for studies that focused on POC diagnostic tests and SCM. The review included studies that were undertaken in 140 countries defined by the World Bank as LMICs published up to August 2017. Two reviewers independently screened the abstracts and full articles against the eligibility criteria. The study used the mixed methods appraisal tool version 2011 to assess the risk of bias for the included studies. NVivo version 11 was employed to extract themes from all included studies and results presented using a narrative approach. Results Of 292 studies identified in this review, only 15 published between 2009 and 2017 included evidence on POC diagnostics and SCM. Of the 15 studies, three were conducted in Zambia, one each in Mozambique, Uganda, Guatemala; South Africa, one in Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, and one multi-country study (Tanzania, Uganda, China, Peru and Zambia and Brazil). Six studies were not country specific since they were not primary studies. Majority of the studies reported stock-outs of HIV, syphilis, and malaria POC tests. There was a moderate to substantial level of agreement between the reviewers’ responses at full article screening stage (Kappa statistic = 0.80, p < 0.01). Nine studies underwent methodological quality appraisal and all, scored between 90 and 100%. Conclusions The results demonstrated limited published research on SCM of and accessibility to POC testing in LMICs. Further studies aimed at investigating SCM of POC tests in resource-limited settings to identify the barriers/challenges and provide a context-specific evidence-based solutions for policy/decision makers, implementers, and POC developers, funders, and development partners would be essential. PROSPERO registration number CRD42016043711. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-4351-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supply chain management and accessibility to point-of-care testing in resource-limited settings: a systematic scoping review

Kuupiel

Bawontuo

Drain

et al. 2019

BMC Health Serv Res

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“…Adequate supply chain management prevents diagnostic test stock-outs and sustains POC diagnostic services in rural health facilities [5, 15]. Supply chain management has been defined by various studies to include all activities leading to the production, selection, quantification, negotiation, procurement, quality assurance, storage, inventory management, distribution and redistribution of a service or product [16, 17]. In this study, we define supply chain management as events leading to the selection, distribution, storage and inventory management, as well as human resource capacity, for POC testing in rural primary healthcare clinics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poor supply chain management and stock-outs of point-of-care diagnostic tests in Upper East Region’s primary healthcare clinics, Ghana

et al. 2019

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Introduction Several supply chain components are important to sustain point-of-care (POC) testing services in rural settings. To evaluate the availability of POC diagnostic tests in rural Ghana’s primary healthcare (PHC) clinics, we conducted an audit of the supply chain management for POC diagnostic services in rural Upper East Region’s (UER) PHC clinics, Ghana to determine the reasons/causes of POC tests deficiencies. Material and methods We conducted a review of accessible POC diagnostics in 100 PHC clinics in UER, Ghana from February to March 2018. We used a monitoring audit tool adopted from the World Health Organization and Management Science for Health guidelines for supply chain management of diagnostics for compliance. We determined a clinic’s compliance with the stipulated guidelines, and a composite compliant score was defined as a percentage rating of 90 to 100%. We used univariate logistic regression analysis in Stata 14 to determine the level of association between supply chain management and the audit variables. Results Overall, the composite compliant score of supply chain management for existing POC tests was at 81% (95%CI: 79%–82%). The mean compliance with distribution guidelines was at 93.8% (95%CI: 91.9%–95.6%) the highest score, whilst inventory management scored the lowest, at 53.5% (95%CI: 49.5%–57.5%) compliance. Of the 13 districts in the region, the results showed complete stock-out of blood glucose test in all selected PHC clinics in seven (53.8%) districts, haemoglobin and hepatitis B virus test in three (23.1%), and urine protein test in two (15.4%) districts. Based on our univariate logistics regression models, stock-out of tests at the Regional Medical and District Health Directorates stores in the region, high clinic attendance, lack of documentation of expiry date/expired tests, poor documentation of inventory level, poor monitoring of monthly consumption level, and failure to document unexplained losses of the various POC tests were significant predictors of complete test stock-out in most of the clinics in the Upper East Region. Discussion There is poor supply chain management of POC diagnostic tests in UER’s PHC clinics. Improvement in inventory management and human resource capacity for POC testing is critical to ensure accessibility and sustainability of POC diagnostic services in resource-limited settings PHC clinics.

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“…Physical product flow manages the services and products for customers (patients) to meet their needs. Financial and information flow ensures there is effective supply chain performance, and thus improves the performance of the organization(Kowalski 2009) Pinna et al, (2015). defined supply chain in healthcare, in line with this study, as "upstream and downstream relationship with supplier and customers and to solving problems of functional divisions that occur within and between organizations".Figure 2.1 shows the overall supply chain management process in the healthcare sector from the first step, raw material, up to reaching the end users.…”

mentioning

confidence: 72%

Assessing the leanness of a supply chain using multi-grade fuzzy logic: a health-care case study

Almutairi

Salonitis

Al-Ashaab

2019

IJLSS

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Purpose Numerous and diverse organizations have implemented lean principles and practices, which concentrate on improving the efficiency of business processes by reducing cost, waste, consumptions and effort. However, previous assessments have not focused on the leanness of the supply chain in a health-care setting. This paper aims to introduce a method for assessing the successful implementation of lean principles and tools in a supply chain. Furthermore, this paper validates the method in a health-care organization. Design/methodology/approach This paper starts with an extensive literature review on assessing leanness and using multi-grade fuzzy logic. Then, a conceptual model was developed to measure leanness. The conceptual model was validated by discussing the initial version with select academic experts, especially those who deal with leanness in health-care organizations. After responding to the experts’ valuable comments, the health-care organization that is the focus of this case study was chosen based on two criteria. The first criterion was the organization’s ability to participate in the study, and the second was the organization’s commitment to implementing lean principles. These criteria were important to ensure the organization had the necessary foundation for implementing change initiatives such as lean process improvements. Next, a multi-grade (multi-attributes) fuzzy logic was used for leanness measurement. A leanness index was calculated, and the results were validated using experts from the case study organization. Finally, the weaker areas of the organization’s processes were identified to point the way for further improvements. Findings The assessment indicated that the case study organization is not lean. The organization’s weaker attributes were identified, and improvements have been suggested. Research limitations/implications This study focused on a single health-care organization, which was selected from a limited pool of potential organizations, namely, organizations which are accredited by both the Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions and the Joint Commission International. The scope of future research should be extended to multi-case studies to enhance the findings presented in this paper. This paper’s findings can be used to help decision-makers at health-care providers to implement lean thinking in supply chain processes. Practical implications This research may be interest to practicing supply chain managers, as it proposes what enablers, factors and attributes should be emphasized in lean implementation. The proposed model can work as an assessment tool to identify the gap between the present level of leanness and the desired leanness state so the health-care organization can identify what can be improved. This model enables decision-makers in hospital supply chain to take suitable actions for improving lean implementation level. Originality/value This study makes an original contribution to the body of research concerning lean principles; the study developed a conceptual model for leanness assessment that can be applied to the supply chain of health-care organizations. Indeed, the conceptual model is likely to be useful for assessing leanness outside of the health-care field, which suggests avenues for future research.

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Emerging Trends in Healthcare Supply Chain Management — An Italian Experience

Cited by 18 publications

References 31 publications

Supply chain management and accessibility to point-of-care testing in resource-limited settings: a systematic scoping review

Supply chain management and accessibility to point-of-care testing in resource-limited settings: a systematic scoping review

Poor supply chain management and stock-outs of point-of-care diagnostic tests in Upper East Region’s primary healthcare clinics, Ghana

Assessing the leanness of a supply chain using multi-grade fuzzy logic: a health-care case study

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