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Hospital Supply Chain System: Green Supply Chain Management in the Healthcare System

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Communication and Informatics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 33315

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Hung-Chang Liao

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Guest Editor

Department of Health Policy and Management, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40201, Taiwan
Interests: artificial intelligence; healthcare administration; medical humanities; hospital environment and service design; medical education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The healthcare system’s green supply chain management (GSCM) goes beyond traditional supply chain management based on traditional physical flows and other flows, such as patients’ waiting time, the use of medical resources, etc. Recently, many studies have gradually used the "green" issue in the hospital supply chain management and tried to develop the framework to link the green healthcare environment in the supply chain management. Connecting environmental information, such as environmental cost, will prompt consumers to think about the duty of the healthcare system. GSCM in the healthcare system could be treated in two parts. One is the internal supply chain, including patients (customers), the patient care unit, and hospital process units. The other is the external supply chain, including vendors, manufacturers, and distribution centers. Thus, a good framework of GSCM in the healthcare system will incorporate internal and external units’ activities and operations in increasing sustainable competitive advantages. Further, GSCM can facilitate information sharing and information exchange in environmental problems and continuous material flow in the healthcare process. Hence, the healthcare system with GSCM can reinforce the resources and activities to meet individual and public health needs.

Badi and Murtagh (2019) conducted a systematic literature review on the exploration of GSCM and suggested the trend for future research. For example, activities in the GSCM include green purchasing and procurement, green design, green manufacturing, green logistics, waste management, green operation, and end-of-life management. What are the similarities and differences between GSCM activities in the healthcare system and GSCM activities in other industries? The editors encourage researchers who are interested in the Special Issue to thorough review the paper. We welcome researchers to contribute their knowledge and research results in the Special Issue.

Badi, S,; Murtagh, N. Green supply chain management in construction: A systematic literature review and future research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production 2019, 223, 312-322.

Possible topics for this Special Issue include:

The healthcare system’s strategy, planning, and operation in the GSCM

The healthcare system’s cost of environmental management system

The healthcare system’s development and validation of a measurement instrument in the GSCM

The healthcare system’s practices, concerns, and performance issues in the GSCM

Prof. Dr. Hung-Chang Liao
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Green supply chain management (GSCM)
Hospital supply chain management (HSCM)
environmental dynamism
Sustainability performance
Environmental factors

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Research

16 pages, 523 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Factors Influencing Hospitals’ Implementation of a Green E-Procurement System Using a Cloud Model

by Hsin-Pin Fu, Tsung-Sheng Chang, Hsiao-Ping Yeh and Yu-Xuan Chen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(24), 5137; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16245137 - 16 Dec 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4354

Abstract

Currently, the green procurement activities of private hospitals in Taiwan follow the self-built green electronic-procurement (e-procurement) system. This requires professional personnel to take the time to regularly update the green specification and software and hardware of the e-procurement system, and the information system maintenance cost is high. In the case of a green e-procurement system crash, the efficiency of green procurement activities for hospitals is affected. If the green e-procurement can be moved to a convenient and trusty cloud computing model, this will enhance the efficiency of procurement activities and reduce the information maintenance cost for private hospitals. However, implementing a cloud model is an issue of technology innovation application and the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework has been widely applied as the theoretical framework in technology innovation application. In addition, finding the weight of factors is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) issue. Therefore, the present study first collected factors influencing implementation of the cloud mode together with the TOE as the theoretical framework, by reviewing the literature. Therefore, an expert questionnaire was designed and distributed to top managers of 20 private hospitals in southern Taiwan. The fuzzy analysis hierarchical process (FAHP), which is a MCDM tool, finds the weights of the factors influencing private hospitals in southern Taiwan when they implement a cloud green e-procurement system. The research results can enable private hospitals to successfully implement a green e-procurement system through a cloud model by optimizing resource allocation according to the weight of each factor. In addition, the results of this research can help cloud service providers of green e-procurement understand users’ needs and develop relevant cloud solutions and marketing strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hospital Supply Chain System: Green Supply Chain Management in the Healthcare System )

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18 pages, 1745 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implementing Green Supply Chain Management for Online Pharmacies through a VADD Inventory Model

by Yan-Kwang Chen, Fei-Rung Chiu and Yu-Cheng Chang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(22), 4454; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16224454 - 13 Nov 2019

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4340

Abstract

Online pharmacies are an important part of the modern healthcare system. They interact with customers through well-designed web interfaces to deliver the healthcare customers need. In addition to well-designed web interfaces, online pharmacies rely on an effective supply chain system to provide medical supplies and services, and especially effective inventory management for supply systems. As green supply chain management (GSCM) becomes increasingly considered by countries, how to develop a sustainable inventory model that takes into account the revenue growth of an online pharmacy while preventing waste and reducing energy costs has become very important. In line with this trend, the study develops a sustainable inventory model that focuses on both economic aspect (profit) and environmental aspect (losses from excessive inventory) within a framework of a single period multi-product inventory model. Specifically, the sustainable inventory model applies the visual-attention-dependent demand (VADD) rate to characterize customer demand in an online trading environment, thereby seeking a profitable marketing strategy and reducing losses due to excessive inventory. Since the complexity of model optimization will drastically increase due to the inclusion of many products in the problem, a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based solution procedure is proposed to increase the feasibility of the proposed model in solving real problems. The sustainable inventory model and the solution procedure are illustrated, compared, and discussed with an online pharmacy example. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis is formulated to study the influence of model parameters on the model solution, the loss of unsold inventory that results in a waste of resources and energy, and the profit of online pharmacies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hospital Supply Chain System: Green Supply Chain Management in the Healthcare System )

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23 pages, 331 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in Pharmaceutical Logistics: An Analysis Based on Kano Model and Importance-Satisfaction Model

by Mu-Chen Chen, Chia-Lin Hsu and Li-Hung Lee

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(21), 4091; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16214091 - 24 Oct 2019

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 13786

Abstract

The implementation of National Health Insurance in Taiwan has affected the medical industry by significantly depleting the supply chain’s profits. Service providers in the medical industry must meet the dual-service expectation of serving as medical manufacturers with upper reaches and as suppliers in the downstream marketing channel. As a result, service providers must anticipate customer requirements, offer new service items that align with customer demands and improve the quality of existing services. This study aims to examine consumer perspectives about service satisfaction in the domestic medical industry using Kano’s two-dimensional model. In addition, it employs the importance-satisfaction model to determine service items that need improvement. The empirical findings show that consumer perceptions about service quality attributes vary and thus, service items may be categorized differently in Kano’s model. Further, the reliability of service quality significantly affects customer satisfaction. Thus, service providers can gain a competitive edge and maintain their market position by offering high value added and critical quality attributes. Finally, analyzing customer attitudes toward new service items for indifference quality will help service providers determine effective tactics in a competitive market. In general, service providers should assign higher priority to items that customers consider in need of improvement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hospital Supply Chain System: Green Supply Chain Management in the Healthcare System )

13 pages, 336 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Application of GSCM in Eliminating Healthcare Waste: Hospital EDC as an Example

by Huan-Cheng Chang, Mei-Chin Wang, Hung-Chang Liao and Ya-huei Wang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(21), 4087; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16214087 - 24 Oct 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3711

Abstract

Eliminating unnecessary healthcare waste in hospitals and providing better healthcare quality are the core issues of green supply chain management (GSCM). Hence, this study used a hospital’s emergency department crowding (EDC) problem to illustrate how to establish an emergency medicine service (EMS) simulation system to obtain a robust parameters setting for solving hospitals’ EDC and waste problems, thereby increasing healthcare quality. Inappropriate resource allocation results in more serious EDC; more serious EDC results in increasing operating costs. Therefore, in the healthcare system, waste includes inappropriate costs and inappropriate resource allocation. The EMS of a medical center in central Taiwan was the object of the study. In this study, the dynamic Taguchi method was used to set the signal factor, noise factor, and control factors to simulate the EMS system to obtain the optimal parameters setting. The performance was set to Emergency Department Work Index (EDWIN^C) and system time (waiting time and service time) per patient. The signal factor was set to the number of physicians; the noise factor was set to patient arrival rate; the control factors included persuading Triage 4 and Triage 5 outpatients, checkup process, bed occupation rate in the emergency department (ED), and medical checkup sequence for Triage 4 and Triage 5 patients. This study makes two significant contributions. First, the study introduces the GSCM concept to the healthcare setting to bring green innovation to hospitals. Hospital administrators may hence design better GSCM activities to facilitate healthcare processes to provide better healthcare outcomes. Second, the study applied the dynamic Taguchi method to the EMS and neural network (NN) to construct a computational model revealing the cause (factors) and effect (performances) relationship. In addition, the genetic algorithm (GA), a solution method, was used to obtain the optimal parameters setting of the EDC in Taiwan. Hence, after obtaining the solutions, the unnecessary waste in EDC—inappropriate costs and inappropriate resource allocation—is reduced. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hospital Supply Chain System: Green Supply Chain Management in the Healthcare System )

19 pages, 1072 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Facilitating Green Supply Chain in Dental Care through Kansei Healthscape of Positive Emotions

by Ling-Hsin Hsu and Yu-Hsiang Hsiao

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(19), 3507; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16193507 - 20 Sep 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4658

Abstract

Dentistry is highly energy- and resource-intensive with a significant environmental impact. To consolidate green dentistry supply chains, delivering the care of highest quality that meets client value should not be neglected. This study emphasized the importance of client-centered healthscape design for facilitating a green dentistry supply chain. A client-centered healthscape design, which promotes clients’ positive emotions and increases willingness to revisit the dentist, plays a critical role in realizing green dentistry supply chains in the long run. For this purpose, the relationship among dental healthscape design elements, client emotions, and revisit intentions was investigated using a Kansei engineering-based approach. The effects of dental healthscape elements on clients’ positive emotions and the effects of positive emotions on clients’ revisit intentions were holistically examined on the basis of the stimulus–organism–response model. Through this approach, 17 elements of design, ambience, and social interaction factors that comprise the dental healthscape and 20 Kansei words used to express clients’ positive emotions regarding dental service were identified. A questionnaire survey was used to assess Kansei and revisit intention in healthscape scenarios, composed of varied design elements. Primary data were collected from 600 individuals from 2017 to 2018 throughout Taiwan. Partial least squares was applied to holistically analyze the effects of dental healthscape elements on clients’ positive emotions and the effects of positive emotions on clients’ revisit intention to generate a Kansei model for the dental healthscape. All 20 Kansei words had significant positive effects on the dental revisit intention of clients. The five positive emotions most associated with increased revisit intention were thoughtful, hopeful, tender, comfortable, and cozy. The Kansei model of the dental healthscape provides references for healthscape design that maintains positive client emotions during the dental service and results in high revisit intention. This approach can realize an emotion-centered design for dental healthscapes that promotes preventive dental care, early treatment, and effective use of medical resources, and consequently contributes to green dentistry supply chains. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hospital Supply Chain System: Green Supply Chain Management in the Healthcare System )

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