Healthcare supply chain management: literature review and some issues

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal linkages among supply chain practices, effectiveness of supply chain performance (SCP) and organizational performance (OP) in Indian healthcare industries. Design/methodology/approach This paper is helpful in developing a framework for linking a healthcare supply chain practice to its OP, and thus identifies how such a linkage can be connected to the effectiveness of SCP. Such effort also enables the authors to derive a set of recommended supply chain practices for SC performance. Findings From the literature review, this paper finds that, in the context of Indian healthcare industries, efficient SC performance may play a critical role for overall OP improvement, as there is a close interrelationship between supply chain management (SCM) practices and SCP that may have a more significant effect on OP improvement. Research limitations/implications The principle limitation of the paper is that it is performed only in a particular industry and with a questionnaire survey which could be extended in future for other industries also. Another limitation of the paper is that it is focused only on the SCP of medical device and equipment supply chain which is a small portion of the whole healthcare supply chain, and therefore requires further research covering various other domains of healthcare supply chain. Another limitation of the study is that the sample survey has been taken from only one respondent per company at one point of time which may create biasness in the results. Thus, future research should collect data through multiple members from the organization. Practical implications This study contributes to know the effect of SCM practices on healthcare SCP and provides a practical and useful tool to evaluate the extent of effectiveness of SCP and finally their impact on the healthcare OP. Finally, this study provides conceptual and descriptive literature regarding SCM practices that leads to improvement in healthcare performance. Social implications This study adds to the knowledge on healthcare SCM performance by exploring the relationship between supply chain practices, healthcare SCP and healthcare OP and by developing and testing a research framework thus help in improving patient satisfaction. Originality/value This study attempts to show how the potential benefits of supply chain practices can no longer be ignored in healthcare supply chain.