Drivers and Barriers to Implementing the Internet of Things in the Health Care Supply Chain: Mixed Methods Multicase Study

Abstract

Background Over the past 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed enormous pressure on the health care industry. There has been an increase in demand and, at the same time, a shortage of supplies. This has shown that supply chain management in the health care industry cannot be taken for granted. Furthermore, the health care industry is also facing other major challenges, such as the current labor market shortage. In the literature, the Internet of Things (IoT) is highlighted as an effective tool to build a more resilient and efficient supply chain that can manage these challenges. Although using IoT in supply chain management has been extensively examined in other types of supply chains, its use in the health care supply chain has largely been overlooked. Given that the health care supply chain, compared to others, is more complex and is under growing pressure, a more in-depth understanding of the opportunities brought by IoT is necessary. Objective This study aims to address this research gap by identifying and ranking the drivers of and barriers to implementing IoT in the health care supply chain. Methods We conducted a 2-stage study. In the first, exploratory stage, a total of 12 semistructured interviews were conducted to identify drivers and barriers. In the second, confirmatory stage, a total of 26 health care supply chain professionals were asked in a survey to rank the drivers and barriers. Results The results show that there are multiple financial, operational, strategy-related, and supply chain-related drivers for implementing IoT. Similarly, there are various financial, strategy-related, supply chain-related, technology-related, and user-related barriers. The findings also show that supply chain-related drivers (eg, increased transparency, traceability, and collaboration with suppliers) are the strongest drivers, while financial barriers (eg, high implementation costs and difficulties in building a business case) are the biggest barriers to overcome. Conclusions The findings of this study add to the limited literature regarding IoT in the health care supply chain by empirically identifying the most important drivers and barriers to IoT implementation. The ranking of drivers and barriers provides guidance for practitioners and health care provider leaders intending to implement IoT in the health care supply chain.