Supply Chain Epidemiology - facts, concept and practice II

In my last posting, I discussed supply chain epidemiology, concepts and practice - and received a lot of commendation for the initiation of this topic. I am excited that within the fraternity, we are building consensus on the need to expand the scope of the supply chain in responding to disease prevention and control. I am particularly interested in how we can demonstrate that supply chain principles can have or are having a significant impact on disease prevention. It is only when we are able to quantitatively demonstrate the relationship between supply chain practices and disease prevention that we can make a meaningful impact on global public health practice.

Today, I trace the historical application of supply chain principles to private and industrial organization's performance. I will also highlight the practical perspective of the application of supply chain principles to healthcare. Whiles at it, I will demonstrate the theoretical challenges of using the supply chain to disease prevention, which when addressed, can leap the development of this area of knowledge called Supply Chain Epidemiology.

Research in the private sector indicated significant return-on-investment, improvements in a firm's profitability, strong competitiveness, and overall client satisfaction as a result of well-coordinated supply chain initiatives. For instance, there was a positive correlation between supply chain principles of just-in-time (JIT) and the performance of financial, manufacturing, and food organizations, resulting in significant financial savings, improved processes, and investors' return-on-equity1. Particularly in recent years, we have seen how organizations such as United Postal Services (UPS), Freight and Logistics (F&L), and Amazon have gained significant market shares due to investments in logistics and supply chain interventions. With the significant advances in transportation and information technologies, which are the two important indicators of supply chain performance, the private sector is repositioning itself to benefit from supply chain initiatives.

Whiles the overall goal of the private sector supply chain is improved return-on-investment, that of the healthcare sector is to achieve patients care. Recently, healthcare researchers have evaluated the role of the supply chain in a patient's care. In the healthcare industry, recent works are shown strong relations between the delivery of essential medication and patients' prognosis and consequently to the overall well-being2. Others have shown that, applying supply chain practice to a hospital setting improved patients flow and access to timely critical services, thereby saving lives and enhanced patients experience3. Therefore, the practice of supply chain in the healthcare sector can substantially enhanced clients' experience and help reduce provider-patients gaps to achieve the quality of care.

Nonetheless, the use of logistics in the epidemiology of disease prevention is at infancy. Epidemiological research is based on the application of theories to practice using evidence to show either causative or statistical association between variables at the personal, interpersonal, or ecological levels. With the multidisciplinary nature of the supply chain, it has become difficult for public health practitioners to relate a specific supply chain theory to disease prevention. For that reason, this field has received limited attention. However, with the significant impact supply chain has had in enhancing performance in the private and healthcare setting, it is time innovative research alternatives, using sound theoretical principles, are used to inform policymakers and public health practitioners on the significance of supply chain to disease prevention.

In my next part of this series, I will trace the theoretical framework needed to show the direct relationship between supply chain practice and disease prevention, in order to advance the knowledge of supply chain epidemiology.

References:

Green, K. W., Whitten, D., & Inman, R. A. (2008). The impact of logistics performance on organizational performance in a supply-chain context. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 13(4), 317–327.

Lee, S. M., Lee, D., & Schniederjans, M. J. (2011). Supply chain innovation and organizational performance in the healthcare industry. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 31(11), 1193–1214.

Infante, M., & dos Santos, M. A. B. (2007). [Production chain supply management for public hospitals: a logistical approach to healthcare]. Ciência & saúde coletiva, 12(4), 945–954.

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