Hospital Supply Chain Management Research Articles

The Study of an Optimal Robust Design and Adjustable Ordering Strategies in the HSCM.

The purpose of this study was to establish a hospital supply chain management (HSCM) model in which three kinds of drugs in the same class and with the same indications were used in creating an optimal robust design and adjustable ordering strategies to deal with a drug shortage. The main assumption was that although each doctor has his/her own prescription pattern, when there is a shortage of a particular drug, the doctor may choose a similar drug with the same indications as a replacement. Four steps were used to construct and analyze the HSCM model. The computation technology used included a simulation, a neural network (NN), and a genetic algorithm (GA). The mathematical methods of the simulation and the NN were used to construct a relationship between the factor levels and performance, while the GA was used to obtain the optimal combination of factor levels from the NN. A sensitivity analysis was also used to assess the change in the optimal factor levels. Adjustable ordering strategies were also developed to prevent drug shortages.

The IOT Technologies based Medical Equipment SCM in the Hospital

The management of medical equipment supply chain is the important part of process management of the diagnosis in hospital. At present, our enterprise supply chain management of medical equipment is still in its infancy with poor operational efficiency, backward information system and low-level management. The technology of the Internet of Things based bar code technology and mobile terminal technology is the feasible and economical solution on hospital supply chain management. In this paper, it discusses problems of the medical equipment supply chain management and analyzes the possibility of medical equipment supply chain management by the Internet of Things, it constructs the model of supply chain management system based on Internet of things and introduces its application process and implementation.

The APP strategies selected in SCM of the hospital

This paper uses a real case study of Taiwan’s Middle Alliance of Department of Health (TMADH) to explore the selection of suitable aggregate production planning (APP) strategies in hospital supply chain management (SCM). A simulation method was used to simulate the six different APP’s strategies to further evaluate the results of multiple objectives, including total cost (TC), average service level (SL) and average changes in production rate (PR). This paper uses the TOPSIS and fuzzy linguistic methods to compare the different weights of different objectives to obtain the optimal APP strategy selection sequence for decision-makers in hospital SCM. The results of this study show that decision-makers only need to apply historical data in APP strategy planning to obtain the superior solution; in other words, decreasing the complexity of the decision process in selecting an APP strategy and SCM production policy which is the primary contribution of this paper.

Using RFID to Improve Hospital Supply Chain Management for High Value and Consignment Items

This paper presents a radio-frequency identification (RFID)-enabled traceability system for the management of consignment and high value products requiring item level traceability in a hospital environment.The solution can be considered (i) as an alternative to RFID-enabled cabinets used in the replenishment of consignment and high value supplies in certain operating rooms, cardiac catheterization laboratories and interventional radiology departments, or (ii) as a complementary solution facilitating the tracking of medical devices removed from RFID-enabled cabinets. In short, the end-to-end traceability of medical products in the healthcare supply chain can be significantly enhanced.