Resumen de A survey on the implementation of supply chain management techniques in Singapore's health care industry
The cost of providing health care is steadily increasing due to factors such as technology progress, changing disease patterns, aging population, and complex reimbursement techniques. Studies and research carried out to combat escalating costs are mostly focused on diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, advanced technology implementations, and cost sharing, but there is little research on cost containment through the application of logistics concepts. This study explores the possibilities of cost reduction resulting from implementation of the state-of-the-art logistics concepts in Singapore's health care industry. A survey is conducted among more than half of Singapore's public and private hospitals with the aim of identifying areas that have room for improvement. The results of the survey are summarized and recommendations are made for possible enhancements in the implementation of JIT and B-to-B type of relationships between suppliers and hospitals. The existing IT infrastructure is also discussed as a means to address these issues.
