Health Supply Chain Research Articles

A systematic review of the literature on the application of blockchain in the health supply chain

Objective of the study: This article aims to present a systematic literature review on the application of blockchain in the healthcare supply chain.Relevance / originality: The relevance and originality consist in the presentation of a systematic literature review that focuses and considers the concepts of blockchain, healthcare and supply chain as equally important, in the studied time frame.Methodology / approach: The systematic literature review followed a protocol based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA), performing the search in eight databases, selecting conference and journal articles based on their content in sequential steps.Main results: As a result, 122 publications were selected. The number of publications in the field has been found to grow rapidly, and sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT) are two prominent minor topics. Three research challenges were raised.Theoretical / methodological contributions: Provide understanding to academics and professionals in the field about the state of the art of applying the blockchain in the healthcare supply chain, both in terms of the evolution of the literature, as well as in terms of raising new research.Social / management contributions: Raising discussions on solutions to healthcare supply chain issues, involving for example data integrity and privacy in electronic medical reports, drug counterfeiting and the use of sensors and the internet of things.

Health supply chain system in Uganda: assessment of status and of performance of health facilities

BackgroundHealth supply chain systems are essential for effective and efficient healthcare system by ensuring availability of quality essential medicines and health supplies. While several interventions have been made to ensure the availability of quality essential medicines and health supplies, health facilities continue to report stockouts in Uganda.ObjectivesThis study aimed to assess the status and performance of the supply chain system across all levels of care in health facilities in Uganda.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study conducted in 128 public and private-not-for-profit health facilities across 48 districts in Uganda. These facilities included all levels of care from Health Centres II, III, IV, general and referral hospitals, and national referral hospitals. Data were collected using desk reviews, health facility surveys, and key informant interviews with key personnel. Stock registers were reviewed to assess the availability of a basket of essential medicines based on the essential medicines list of the Ministry of Health.ResultsLess than half (42%) of health facilities had computer hardware. Most (84%) of health facilities were using a form of Logistics Management Information System with only (6%) were using the Electronic Logistics Management Information System. Just under a third (33%) of health information officers and (51%) of public health officers’ positions were filled in the health facilities. Nearly (66%) of health facilities used supply chain data to support decision-making. Most (84%) of health facilities reported stockouts of Essential Medicines and Health Supplies in the past 6 months. The main reasons for stockouts were (59%) a sudden increase in demand (40%) delivery gaps/delayed deliveries and (35%) discrepancies in orders and deliveries. Health facilities responded to stockouts through various means including (75%) redistribution (43%) purchased from a distributor, and (30%) placing emergency orders.ConclusionsThe findings from this study show that the performance of health facilities in different supply chain processes and functions was defective. To improve the supply chain performance of health facilities, it is important to invest in infrastructure development, provide computer hardware and internet connection and strengthen the capacity key personnel. This is key for ensuring full functionality of the supply chain and availability of quality medicines and health supplies to the end-user.

Collaborative Learning Through Diverse Stakeholders in Public Health Supply Chain Logistics and Emergency Response Planning

One of the most distressing aspects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the U.S. is the lopsided damage that it has triggered to poor communities and communities of color. COVID-19 has emphasized the importance of new approaches to community engagement, community support, and cultural competence related to public health logistics planning, supply chain response, and service of people of color in the U.S. because of past inequities in terms of advance warning, health education, and aid to certain communities. An escape room training experience was used to allow participants from minority communities, emergency response planners, and policy makers to engage each other in a collective learning experience. There was tremendous value for the managers because they were able to engage with culturally diverse participants in a way that allowed them to understand problem-solving from different lenses when they plan and set priorities about community aid and support in future public health emergencies.

Demand sensing and digital tracking for maternal child health (MCH) in Uganda: a pilot study for ‘E+TRA health’

BackgroundThirteen essential maternal child health (MCH) commodities, identified by the UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children, could save the lives of more than 6 million women and children in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) if made available at the point of care. To reduce stockout of those commodities and improve the health supply chains in LMICs, the Electronic TRAcking system for healthcare commodities (E+TRA Health), an all-in-one out-of-box solution, was developed to track and manage medical commodities at lower-level health facilities in rural areas. It aims to support real-time monitoring and decision-making to (1) reduce the time needed to prepare orders, (2) reduce stockout and overstock cases of targeted medical supplies, (3) help improve patient outcomes. In this study, we adopted an integrated approach to analyze the process of information flow, identify and address critical paths of essential supplies associated with maternal health in the Ugandan health system.MethodsWe apply system engineering principles and work with community partners in hospitals to develop care process workflow charts (based on essential services) for the lifecycle of maternal health continuum of care. Based on this chart, we develop a cloud-based offline-compatible smart sync platform named “E+TRA Health” to triangulate (1) patient admission, diagnoses, delivery information, testing reports from laboratories, (2) inventory information from main store, stores in MCH unit, and (3) lab, to identify the critical list of medical and laboratory supplies, their lead times for procurement and then generate reports and suggested procurement plans for real time decision-making.ResultsThe E+TRA Health platform was piloted in two Healthcare Center IV facilities in Uganda over a period of 6 months. The system collected more than 5000 patient records and managed more than 500 types of medicines. The pilot study demonstrated the functionalities of E+TRA Health and its feasibility to sense demand from point of care.ConclusionE+TRA Health is the first to triangulate supply and demand data from three different departments (main store, lab, and MCH) to forecast and generate orders automatically to meet patient demands. It is capable of generating reports required by Ministry of Health in real time compared to one-week lead-time using paper-based systems. This prompts frontline stakeholders to generate efficient, reliable and sustainable strategic healthcare plans with real time data. This system improves patient outcomes through better commodity availability by sensing true patient demands.

Adaptive Organizational Technology Approaches to Public Health and Hospital Supply Chains

COVID-19 has made supply chain and logistics risk management a significant aspect of healthcare organizations strategic focus area in 2022 and beyond in the United States. It is essential to consider how medical equipment, medicines, and supplies can save lives but only if they can reach those in need quickly and when most needed. Pandemic-induced disruptions in public health and hospital supply chains have created a need for more responsive and adaptive leadership and organizational practices. This study uses a qualitative research approach to explore the healthcare supply chain and logistics management best practices and innovations in the post-COVID-19 onset world.

Blockchain and Its Application to Manage the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Literature Review.

At the end of 2019, a severe respiratory syndrome named COVID‐19 is started to be transmitted in the world and it has rapidly spread to a global pandemic. Every day, a series of data are collected for real‐time monitoring of the development of this pandemic. The data validation and the verification are becoming very important to manage the pandemic and give recommendations to the people. Nevertheless, sometimes, it is not possible to guarantee the truthfulness of such data and some information may be lost during collection. Due to its characteristics, the Blockchain technology can become an important support to face the COVID‐19 pandemic. In this regard, the aim of this research is to propose a literature review to understand how the blockchain technology has been used for health care and supply chain management to guarantee an efficient tracing, tracking, and monitoring solution, ensure a transparent and safe data transmission, and to delineate the emerging future research directions.

HEALTHCARE APPLICATION OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This paper undertakes a review of extant literature to examine the outlets in which operations management tools and techniques have been applied for improved healthcare delivery. Just as operations management has found usefulness in many other industrial sectors, this report shows that healthcare has also recorded significant advances as the principles of operations management are continually being utilised. This is evident in areas such as the management and planning of medical capacity like bed space; management of medical inventory, equipment scheduling and assignment of doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel to patience. Moreover, operations management tools have been pivotal in making improvements in such areas as medical logistics, drugs and vaccine distribution, and the management of the health supply chain. The healthcare industry has also seen a couple of successes in implementing sustainable operations management in some aspects of healthcare logistics, ethical healthcare services, and responsible healthcare delivery. However, the major challenges in applying sustainability initiatives in healthcare relate to the disposal of medical wastes, effective application of six-sigma for process improvement, and managing long waiting lines experienced in most developing nations' hospital facilities.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0951/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Supply Chain and Logistics Management in Public Health Surveillance and Protection during COVID-19

Abstract COVID-19 shed light on the vulnerability of United States public health logistics and supply change management infrastructure concerning pandemic testing, tracking, and response. Logistics management challenges related to virus testing and tracking have made the critical need for more innovative and more comprehensive healthcare surveillance approaches. Public health surveillance is a critical and often underutilized aspect of public health logistics and supply chain infrastructure planning. Wastewater treatment infrastructures offer an innovative approach to gaining public health data to provide appropriate public health responses. Understanding the logistics and supply chain aspects of virus tracking, testing, and response data-driven response decision making are the key to mitigating the impact of future outbreaks. This project explores the utility of this approach through qualitative focus group interviewing to gain information from public health subject matter experts in the field.

Creating Inclusive, Diverse, and Psychologically Safe Workplaces for African-American Women Working in Public Health Response Supply Chain and Logistics

Abstract Technology transforms traditional logistics processes, driving supply chain leaders to adapt. COVID-19 highlighted the importance of public health response logistics and supply chain technologies and the need for employees with new levels of expertise. These supply chain technologies include 3D printing, robotic production, automated inventory management, automated shipping, Blockchain technologies, connected handheld devices, demand forecasting information systems, and digital dashboard tracking information systems. By 2060 women of color will represent (51.7 %) of the workforce, which will lead to significant changes in the composition of workforce hiring pools. As the industry experiences technological knowledge workplace shortages, the need to include more diverse employees, especially African-American women, has never been more necessary. This research explores approaches to make public health response logistics technology organizations more inclusive and psychologically safe for Black women using qualitative interviews to provide data that be used to constructively influence the world of professional practice.

Conceptualising and assessing health system resilience to shocks: a cross-disciplinary view.

Health systems worldwide face major challenges in anticipating, planning for and responding to shocks from infectious disease epidemics, armed conflict, climatic and other crises. Although the literature on health system resilience has grown substantially in recent years, major uncertainties remain concerning approaches to resilience conceptualisation and measurement. This narrative review revisits literatures from a range of fields outside health to identify lessons relevant to health systems. Four key insights emerge. Firstly, shocks can only be understood by clarifying how, where and over what timescale they interact with a system of interest, and the dynamic effects they produce within it. Shock effects are contingent on historical path-dependencies, and on the presence of factors or system pathways (e.g. financing models, health workforce capabilities or supply chain designs) that may amplify or dampen impact in unexpected ways. Secondly, shocks often produce cascading effects across multiple scales, whereas the focus of much of the health resilience literature has been on macro-level, national systems. In reality, health systems bring together interconnected sub-systems across sectors and geographies, with different components, behaviours and sometimes even objectives - all influencing how a system responds to a shock. Thirdly, transformability is an integral feature of resilient social systems: cross-scale interactions help explain how systems can show both resilience and transformational capability at the same time. We illustrate these first three findings by extending the socioecological concept of adaptive cycles in social systems to health, using the example of maternal and child health service delivery. Finally, we argue that dynamic modelling approaches, under-utilised in research on health system resilience to date, have significant promise for identification of shock-moderating or shock-amplifying pathways, for understanding effects at multiple levels and ultimately for building resilience.

FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRATION OF VERTICAL PUBLIC HEALTH SUPPLY CHAIN SYSTEMS: A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA


 
 
 
 
 FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRATION OF VERTICAL PUBLIC HEALTH SUPPLY CHAIN SYSTEMS: A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA
 
 Jibrailu L. Maliyogbinda, Sr and Usman Tijjani
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRATION OF VERTICAL PUBLIC HEALTH SUPPLY CHAIN SYSTEMS: A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA
 Jibrailu L. Maliyogbinda, Sr.,
 1 (BPharm, MBA, MIAD, MSc., MCIPS, PMP), # 3 MAJILO Street, Plot 563 Kubwa Ext. 2 (Relocation), Abuja-FCT, Nigeria. jibrailu@outlook.com, +234(0)809 599 9911
 
 Usman Tijjani
 BSc. (Hons), MSc, MPH., Consultant of Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) of Public Health Programs, # 8., Guava Road, Unguwan Dosa, Kaduna, Kaduna state. tijjaniusman100@gmail.com. +234(0)8065554283.
 Abstract
 Purpose: The purpose of this research study is to explore the opinion of public health supply chain experts in Nigeria on the modalities for the integration of vertical public health supply chain systems and to proffer a practical and systematic contextual framework for achieving a seamless integration of vertical supply chain systems in the public health sector.
 Methodology: This research study was a qualitative thematic content analysis of the views of fifteen respondents from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria using an interpretive philosophical approach through the theoretical lens of constructivism. Respondents in this study had at least three years’ experience in the management of pharmaceuticals and other health products in one or more public health intervention programs including HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis & Leprosy, Malaria, Reproductive Health and Family Planning, Vaccines and Immunisation, Neglected Tropical Diseases and Essential Medicines Programmes.
 Findings: The findings of the research study were based on a holistic and comprehensive approach that included cost benefit analysis, justifications, and circumstances for viable integration of vertical public health supply chain systems, which are relationship management, information integration, product integration and coordination called the four modalities/dimensions/practices of supply chain integration and need to exist in a continuum driven by purposeful leadership. Even though the data collected through semi-structured interviews did not allow for differing views among respondents, the opportunity to freely express one’s opinion resulted in a rich data. Going forward, the government and its development partners need to demonstrate political and financial commitment to the course of integrating vertical public health supply chain systems in the country. The research study for the first time presented a practical and contextual framework for the seamless integration of public health supply chain systems, especially for low- and medium-income countries.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice, and policy: This research study contributes to the integration of vertical public health supply chain system in Nigeria and proffer practical and systematic contextual framework for achieving a seamless integration of vertical supply chain systems in the public health.

Pembuatan Aplikasi MOSTRANS Transporter Berbasis Mobile Menggunakan React-Native JavaScript

MOSTRANS Mobile Transporter, the mobile application in this paper aims to advance technology in the health supply chain ecosystem so that every part of the operation can be more efficient and modern. In dealing with this problem as well, MOSTRANS Mobile Transporter aims to meet the needs of MOSTRANS Software as a Service (SaaS) clients by assisting them in carrying out their daily operational activities by answering problems such as what features are needed. This application is built using JavaScript and React-Native for the front-end. With GraphQL as a complementary component for the back-end. To test this application, the Black Box Testing method is used as well as testing by the user with the User Acceptance Test to ensure the application can be used for everyday use. From the test results, it was concluded that the application created had fulfilled the purpose of assisting the operational activities of the MOSTRANS SaaS client by facilitating the features required by the MOSTRANS SaaS client. By making this application, the daily operational activities of the parties involved will be much more efficient and mobile..

Carbon footprint modelling of national health systems: Opportunities, challenges and recommendations.

Health care presents significant contributions towards climate change. An awareness of a health systems carbon footprint provides a quantification of its environmental impact, an understanding of carbon intensive areas to target with reduction measures and a means of mapping trends in emissions over time. Attempts at calculating the carbon footprint of national health systems are few, predominantly of developed nations, and are limited by data availability and methodological inadequacies. There is a need to mobilise countries to understand the role of health care in contributing towards climate change and for them to start engaging in ongoing calculations of their national health system carbon footprints. There is also a need to improve data availability and information systems to allow for such calculations, especially in developing countries where there may be differences in carbon hotspots. Finally, there is a need for continued improvements in the carbon footprint modelling methodology of health systems as data collection and available emission factors, especially of health care specific products and supply chain emissions, improves. Health systems need to join the global fight against climate change.

The Creation of a Sustainability Index for Public Health Supply Chains

The Creation of a Sustainability Index for Public Health Supply Chains

Application of random forest model to predict the demand of essential medicines for non-communicable diseases management in public health facilities.

Introductionrecent initiatives in healthcare reform have pushed for a better understanding of data complexity and revolution. Given the global prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) and the economic and clinical burden they impose, it is recommended that the management of essential medicines used to treat them be renovated and optimized through the application of predictive modeling such a RF model.Methodsin this study, a series of data pre-processing activities were used to select the top seventeen (17) NCD essential medicines most commonly used for treating common and frequent NCD. The study focused on machine learning (ML) applications, whereby a random forest (RF) model was applied to predict the demand using essential medicines consumption data from 2015 to 2019 for approximately 500 medical products.Resultswith a seventy-eight (78) percent accuracy rate for the training set and a 71 percent accuracy rate for the testing set, the RF model predicted the trend in demand for 17 NCD essential medicines. This was achieved by entering the month, year, district, and name of the NCD essential medicine. Based on historical consumption data, the RF model can thus be used to predict demand trends. Our findings showed that the RF model is talented to commendably perform as a predicting model.Conclusionthe study concluded that RF has the ability to optimize health supply chain planning and operational management by boosting the accuracy in predicting the demand trend for NCD essential medicines.

Examining the Practices and Challenges of Information Technology in Health Supply Chain Management in Alsabah Children’s Hospital, Juba, South Sudan

Background: This study was conducted to understand the practices and the challenges associated with information and communication technology in health supply chain management in Al Sabah children’s hospital in Juba, South Sudan. The aim was to assess the practices of information technology adoption in the health supply chain management and also to identify the major challenges associated with the adoption of this technology in the Hospital. Methods: An in-depth interview was conducted with the 8 health workers in the different units of Alsabah children’s hospital viz. out-patient, pharmacy, EPI, Laboratory, state drug warehouse located within the hospital, and Admin and Finance department. Published articles were searched online to identify the relevant studies and the collected data were analysed narratively. Results: It was observed that no Information and Communication technologies application are used in the hospital for communication between the staff and the patients, monitoring of the patients, and supervision is done in person which is very difficult for the hospital staff to manage with serve shortage of the skilled and qualified staff in the hospital. Lack of internet facility is the main challenge and patient information is recorded in the registers and all the information from different units is submitted to the hospital statistician on a weekly basis for summarization. The hard copies of the report are submitted to the county health department office on a weekly and monthly basis. Conclusion: This study concluded that the management and the staff of the hospital face a lot of difficulties in performing their duties due to the lack of Information Communication Technologies in the hospital. A lot of time is spent attending to the patients, the decision is not made on time, and supervision of the patients is not adequately carried out. If provided new technologies, it will help the Physicians and the Nurses in performing their duties with ease and without wastage of time.

Frontiers in Service Science: Integrating ESG Measures and Supply Chain Management: Research Opportunities in the Postpandemic Era

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the instrumental role of supply chains in delivering economic, human, and societal value. At the same time, the pandemic has intensified interest among businesses, governments, and academics to examine environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. In today’s hyper-globalized economy, ESG measures are futile unless they explicitly incorporate a firm’s end-to-end operations throughout its entire supply chain. On the other hand, well-calibrated ESG measures should play a central role in guiding a firms’ day-to-day supply chain management practices. To illustrate the value of unifying ESG and end-to-end supply chain thinking, we present three supply chain cases that arose amid the COVID-19 pandemic, involving online platforms; public health supply chains; and vaccine development, manufacturing, and distribution, respectively. Drawn from these three cases, we spotlight some new research opportunities in both ESG and supply chain management.

The Prediction of Essential Medicines Demand: A Machine Learning Approach Using Consumption Data in Rwanda

Today’s global business trends are causing a significant and complex data revolution in the healthcare industry, culminating in the use of artificial intelligence and predictive modeling to improve health outcomes and performance. The dataset, which was referred to is based on consumption data from 2015 to 2019, included approximately 500 goods. Based on a series of data pre-processing activities, the top ten (10) essential medicines most used were chosen, namely cotrimoxazole 480 mg, amoxicillin 250 mg, paracetamol 500 mg, oral rehydration salts (O.R.S) sachet 20.5 g, chlorpheniramine 4 mg, nevirapine 200 mg, aminophylline 100 mg, artemether 20 mg + lumefantrine (AL) 120 mg, Cromoglycate ophthalmic. Our study concentrated on the application of machine learning (ML) to forecast future trends in the demand for essential drugs in Rwanda. The following models were created and applied: linear regression, artificial neural network, and random forest. The random forest was able to predict 10 selected medicines with an accuracy of 88 percent with the train set and 76 percent with the test set, and it can thus be used to forecast future demand based on past consumption data by inputting a month, year, district, and medicine name. According to our findings, the random Forest model performed well as a forecasting model for the demand for essential medicines. Finally, data-driven predictive modeling with machine learning (ML) could become the cornerstone of health supply chain planning and operational management.

Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on Drug Store Management in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital of Central India.

Introduction: One-third of the annual hospital budget is spent on the purchase of medicines, materials, and supplies. Drug store management is a complex but critical process within the healthcare delivery system. Health supply chains, the import of active pharmaceutical ingredients, transportation, procurement, finished products have been disrupted by COVID-19.Materials & methods: A retrospective, observational study was carried out at the Department of Hospital Administration, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur. Quantitative data about the pattern of consumption of 20 most commonly used drugs (10 antibiotics, three analgesics, three antipyretics, two anticoagulants, and two steroids), and 20 most frequently used consumables were sourced from existing records of the Central Pharmacy for 24 months between 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2020.Results: A significant rise in the consumption pattern was seen in 25 drugs and consumables out of 40 total selected drugs and consumables. The maximum increase was observed in antibiotics followed by antipyretics, and the least increase was observed in analgesics followed by anticoagulants. Tablet Azithromycin 500 mg was the most frequently used antibiotic during the COVID-19 Period as compared to the Pre-COVID-19 period followed by injection Piperacillin + Tazobactam. The only antibiotic having a decline in consumption and also with the lowest consumption was tablet Metronidazole 400 mg. The highest increase in consumables occurs by 10088% in N95 Masks, followed by 573% in shoe covers, and 153% in face masks (three-layers), respectively.Conclusion: This study will enhance education to the pharmaceutical industries, policymakers to the Government, and other hospitals on how to better manage drug stores in future pandemic-like situations. Proper drug store management played a crucial role in medication usage that improved patient outcomes and prevented the misuse of medications. The pattern of changes in the consumption of drugs and consumables in the present study can be utilized by other hospitals in the third wave of the pandemic.

A systematic review of the neglect of non-COVID patients amidst COVID pandemic

The rapidly evolving health concern for COVID-19 has considerably overshadowed the non-COVID ailments. Ranging from delays in diagnosis and treatment, neglect of mild-moderate diseases resulting into their progression, adverse pregnancy outcomes and many others, an array of the collateral damage of this pandemic is still evolving. We have performed this systematic review about the impact of COVID pandemic on patients suffering from other ailments. Our search was conducted through PubMed, Cochrane and Google scholar databases. We included systematic reviews and meta- analysis, and randomized controlled trials, observational studies, case series and case reports to ensure comprehensiveness of our search. We excluded abstract only articles, news articles, the non-scientific commentaries and reports from the review. Primary outcome was assessment of the impact of COVID pandemic on non-COVID diseases and management strategies for tackling the same. This review showed that this crisis has resulted into a significant delay in routine diagnostic procedures and workup with p value < 0.00001 (OR of 0.36; 95% CI, 0.24 to 0.55). The highest impacts will be seen with preexisting major health priorities like HIV, tuberculosis, malignancy, various non-communicable diseases, reproductive and child health. The chief culprits for this include inadequate supplies of medicines, healthcare staff, diagnostics and other technologies. Expansion of the health care workforce, enhanced health financing and supply chain resilience can help us override this pandemic. Hence, the intersection of COVID-19 with other non- COVID ailments can have drastic effects. To minimize this surplus morbidity and mortality, we need to adopt comprehensive strategies and maintain the momentum even after this pandemic is surpassed. Keywords: COVID-19; neglect; non-COVID; non-communicable diseases; communicable diseases; management.