Lean and resilience in the healthcare supply chain – a scoping review

Purpose The importance of a lean health-care supply chain is increasingly discussed. However, it is still not very clear how lean practices relate to resilience capabilities, as there are synergies and divergences between them. This study aims at identifying the relationship between lean practices and resilience capabilities in the health-care supply chain. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted a scoping review based on five databases, which allowed the content analysis of 44 articles. Such analysis allowed the verification of trends and volume of studies on this topic. Further, the descriptive numerical and thematic analyses enabled the proposition of a conceptual framework, relating the adoption of lean practices to the development of resilience capabilities according to the tiers of the health-care supply chain in different value streams. Findings Three research directions were derived from this scoping review: empirical validation of the contribution of lean practices to resilience capabilities in the health-care supply chain; systemic implementation of lean practices across tier levels of the health-care supply chain; and complementary approaches to lean implementation toward a more resilient health-care supply chain. Practical implications The understanding of these relationships provides health-care managers arguments to prioritize the application of lean practices to improve desired resilience capabilities in the entire health-care supply chain. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no similar study in the literature.

The role of healt-hcare supply chain management in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic: hot off the press

Purpose The study aims to examine the role of health-care supply chain management during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cross-section of 42 selected sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Design/methodology/approach The study used cross-sectional robust least square regression for parameter estimates. Findings The results confirmed the N-shaped relationship between the health-care logistics performance index (HLPI) and COVID-19 cases. It implies that initially HLPI increases along with an increase in COVID-19 cases. Later down, it decreases COVID-19 cases by providing continued access to medical devices and personal protective equipment. Again, it increases due to resuming economic activities across countries. Practical implications The continuing health-care supply chain is crucial to minimize COVID-19 cases. The international support from the developed world in providing health-care equipment, debt resettlement and resolving regional conflicts is deemed desirable to escape the SSA countries from the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value The importance of the health-care supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic is evident in the forecasting estimates, which shows that from August 2021 to April 2022, increasing the health-care supply chain at their third-degree level would reduce coronavirus registered cases. The results conclude that SSA countries required more efforts to contain coronavirus cases by thrice increasing their health-care logistics supply chain.

Modeling the emergency health-care supply chains: responding to the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose Due to the rapid surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in India, the health-care supply chain (HCSC) disruptions and uncertainties have increased manifold posing severe challenges to health-care facilities and significantly hampering the functioning of the health industry. This study aims to propose a hierarchical structural model of enablers of HCSC in the COVID-19 outbreak and identifies inter-relationships among them in the health-care market. Design/methodology/approach Enablers of emergency HCSC have been identified through extensive literature review and experts’ opinions. Subsequently, total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) and cross-impact matrix-multiplication (MICMAC) analysis have been implemented to determine the hierarchical inter-relationships among enablers and classify them according to their contribution to the overall system. Findings The research has identified and validated 15 enablers of the emergency supply chain in health-care businesses. The study resulted in a seven-level hierarchical structural model based on enabler’s driving and dependence powers. Further, the application of MICMAC analysis resulted in the classification of enablers into four groups, namely, autonomous, dependent, linkage and independent group. Research limitations/implications This study would help health professionals, policymakers and academia to implement the theoretical model constructed to alleviate the effect of COVID-19 by improving the HCSC performances in pandemic situations. This study has social and economic implications in terms of cost-effective and efficient delivery of care services in health emergencies. Originality/value The proposed theoretical model constructed is a new effort addressing the issues of HCSC in the COVID-19 crisis. Procedural implementation of TISM and MICMAC analysis in this study would help researchers to grasp concepts in a very lucid manner. The present study is one of the very few studies analyzing enablers in pandemic situations by implementing the TISM approach.

Hurricane Maria and La Crisis Boricua on Health-Care Supply in Puerto Rico

Many medical professionals left Puerto Rico due to the financial crisis. Puerto Rico passed Act 14 in April 2017 to mitigate the exodus of physicians, reducing the flat tax on medical services to 4 percent. The same year, Puerto Rico was devastated by a Category 4 hurricane, leaving the is land without power for several months. A difference-in-difference model is used to estimate the net effects of the hurricane and Act 14 on the number of health-care providers. The number of health-care providers decreased by 6.5 percent, family physicians by 17.5 percent, and specialists by 8 percent.

A collaborative approach to maintaining optimal inventory and mitigating stockout risks during a pandemic: capabilities for enabling health-care supply chain resilience

PurposeInventory management systems in health-care supply chains (HCSC) have been pushed to breaking point by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unanticipated demand shocks due to stockpiling of medical supplies caused stockouts, and the stockouts triggered systematic supply chain (SC) disruptions inconceivable for risk managers working individually with limited information about the pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to respond to calls from the United Nations (UN) and World Health Organization (WHO) for coordinated global action by proposing a research agenda based on a review of current knowledge and knowledge gaps on the role of collaboration in HCSCs in maintaining optimal stock levels and reinforcing resilience against stockout disruptions during pandemics.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review was conducted, and a total of 752 articles were analyzed.FindingsCollaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment practices are under-researched in the HCSC literature. Similarly, a fragmented application of extant SC collaborative risk management capabilities undermines efforts to enhance resilience against systematic disruptions from medical stockouts. The paucity of HCSC articles in humanitarian logistics and SC journals indicates a need for more research interlinking two interdependent yet critical fields in responding to pandemics.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough based on an exhaustive search of academic articles addressing HCSCs, there is a possibility of having overlooked other studies due to search variations in language controls, differences in publication cycle time and database search engines.Originality/valueThe paper relies on COVID-19's uniqueness to highlight the limitations in optimization and individualistic approaches to managing medical inventory and stockout risks in HCSCs. The paper proposes a shift from a fragmented to holistic application of relevant collaboration practices and capabilities to enhance the resilience of HCSCs against stockout ripple effects during future pandemics. The study propositions and suggestion for an SC learning curve provide an interdisciplinary research agenda to trigger early preparation of a coordinated HCSC and humanitarian logistics response to future pandemics.