Digitalization of the healthcare supply chain: A roadmap to generate benefits and effectively support healthcare delivery

Martin Beaulieu and Omar Bentahar

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2021, vol. 167, issue C

Abstract: The healthcare supply chain lags far behind supply chains in other industries in terms of performance and the deployment of best practices. Managers could bridge this gap and improve the performance of the healthcare supply chain by implementing digitalization initiatives. However, the erratic, disconnected digitalization of practices already deployed in the healthcare sector makes it difficult to maximize the potential of these initiatives. In order to generate the greatest benefits from digitalization while improving healthcare delivery, this article sets out a roadmap for implementing technologies. Unlike previous studies that focused on the entire supply chain or had been limited to patient flow, this study adopts the perspective of the hospital as a central launching point for digitalization initiatives. The roadmap, which involves both internal and external digitalization trajectories, is based on a research methodology that combines observations with an umbrella review of literature. This methodology enables us to capture the research challenges associated with the healthcare supply chain and show how digitalization initiatives can address them. The digitalization proposals put forward are structured in terms of priority and centered on hospitals. These proposals can help managers make improvements to the supply chain and also clinical flows.

Keywords: Supply chain; Digital supply chain; Logistics; Healthcare delivery; Benefits; Technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:167:y:2021:i:c:s0040162521001499

DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120717

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