Introduction
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research CentreLiterature ReviewResearch Purpose
Industrial background
Research methodsHypothesis
Alternative hypothesisNull Hypothesis
Research Methods
Secondary sources/achieved dataInterviews
Case study and survey
Validation of DataEthical IssuesResults
Product management
Sourcing and Services
Purchasing Systems and TechnologyInventory and Distribution ManagementDiscussion Implications and recommendations
Summary and conclusion
Critical review of research methods
Recommendations
Further integration
Focus on the whole facility not on different segment
Future research and development
References
The Benefits of Implementing Global Standards (GSI Health Care) at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center
Chapter I
1.0. Introduction
The main role of global medical industry is to provide quality reliable and affordable medical care services; in the above light world Health Organization (WHO) European Union United Nations bodies and different regional and national bodies have continued to support programs that improve medical care provision. Jointly the above bodies require medical facilities to offer high quality medical facilities. To attain the noble objective of quality medical care services systems within medical facilities must be operating effectively and jointly contribute to the vision and mission of the industry (Mller 2006: 439-450). As any other business entity an effective operation requires the collaboration of different players sectors departments and human resources to develop a unit that contributes to the noble goal. The majority of global medical care services uses technology in one area or another. There is a fast movement from the traditional doctor clinical officer or patient consultation to better services that involve the use of technology products to solve and diagnose patients. Machines like X-ray machines thermometers and other similar hospital equipment are products of the past; however there are other new components that have come to assist the industry offer quality services. They include the use of e-records e-procurement and e-medical reports. Development of technology facilitates these new segments (Pickton and Broderick 2005: 152).
Borrowing from the retail industry the medical services industry has continued to adopt electronic medical components particularly medicine. With growth in electronic commerce there has been the emergence of stock computerized management systems that endeavour to improve service delivery. The methods keep track of medicine in an organization and facilitate the provision of quality medical services (Donaldson 1995: 45-63). One such system in use today is the Global Standard 1 (GS1). GS1 is an open global standard for product identification and bar-coding. GSI Health participates in the industry following industry initiatives and workgroups to drive health IT policies standards architecture and interoperability strategies. This enables greater visibility and collaboration in the healthcare supply chain. GSI has the main mandate of facilitating improvements of quality standards adoption and it builds trust among stakeholders; the stakeholders include human capital and the sector in general. Improvement of the efficiencies automatically leads to better patient care and improved financial performance. It aims at improving efficiencies in medical facilities by promoting current or modern management systems that are reliable and effective (Kontopoulos 2009: 41-58).Chapter II
2.0. Industrial background
The global medical care services face different challenges and advancements. It is responsible for ensuring and maintaining a healthy community through its services supported by research and development. The industry constitutes institutions like hospitals physicians nursing homes diagnostic laboratories chemicals medical equipment and pharmacies and ably supported by drugs pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers (Nellis and Parker 1997: 78). According to the World Health Organization (WHO) health comes in as number five among the basic needs. Being healthy is a component of personal initiatives that include; choosing the foods that someone eats living in a clean environment and following basic hygiene parameters. Despite efforts at a personal level there are times that humankind cannot deviate from being sick. When sick they need quality and reliable medical care services to make them productive once again. The health care industry has the mandate of coming up with a new method of handling different diseases that face humankind. The industry should offer high quality medical care services so that the world remains productive. It is imperative to note that a sick community can hardly make a positive contribution to an economy; they demand more from the economy through their regular medications (Anctil 2008: 31-47).
With the noble goal and expectation that the globe has over the industry the industry uses different tools and approaches to meet customer demands. Some of the services deployed by the industry are those of medical professionals Information Technology (IT) professionals and sales or marketing professionals. This industry also utilizes the expert services of public policy workers medical writers clinical research lab workers and health insurance providers. One of the main reasons why players in the industry have to be passionate about what they do is that it involves dealing with peoples life thus cannot afford to joke or take any risk with them. In the wave of advancement in technology the industry can be commended for the fast adoption of the new development with the aim of improving service delivery (Sola 2010: 45-63).
Concerning supply chain management or logistics management the industry has noted the need to have an effective system that brings all players on one platform for efficiency transparency and sharing of information. Effective supply chain system is a strategic management tool which involves the ultimate provision of products and services. When dealing with suppliers of different types necessary for the industry setting requirements there are three main categories that they can be classified into; producers purchasers and providers. Producers in the industry include medical surgical products companies pharmaceutical companies manufacturers of capital equipment and information systems device manufacturers. For efficiency all these producers must develop high standard goods tools and services to consumers (in this case the providers).
The medical industry suppliers include among others the following players; Grouped Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) product representatives from manufacturers pharmaceutical wholesalers medical surgical distributors and independent contracted distributors. With this wide range of players the industry needs to have effective and reliable systems through which it can get the right supplies when required. Other than the players above there are other different categories of
Players who rely on the supply chain system to conduct their businesses. They include; hospitals systems of hospitals integrated delivery networks (IDNs) and alternate site facilities. The above players should coordinate and ensure each works in its area to boost the general performance of the industry. Their common goals objectives or agendas are quality provisions value additions and physical distribution of material stocks trading products work in progress inventories and manufactured goods.
Although the medical industry has been on the forefront looking for the right systems to support its trade it has been facing numerous challenges. These include outdated IT systems and infrastructure ad-hoc procurement systems lack of executive involvement poor inventory and distribution management and lack of process improvement culture. This has been possible because of its much concentration which rests on research and development of medications and technologies directly relating to the provision of health care services like surgery; they seem to have forgotten the genesis of the entire process which is the supply chain system.
2.1 King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre is a national health facility located in Riyadh Saudi Arabia. The facility aims at providing reliable and effective medical care services to the entire Saudi Arabian republic. Its positioning enables the company to attend to the first patient cases referral cases and emergencies. The facility has medical and support staffs of approximately 8500 to manage its bed capacity of 850 beds. With the capacity the company requires an effective supply chain management system that will see every corner of the facility integrated in a single platform. The supply and logistics department of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre plays a vital role. It ensures that the facility has continued supply of medicine and other medical apparatus. For the last 29 years the facility has handled referral cases in oncology organ transplantations cardiac surgery and genetic diseases; it is among medical facilities in Saudi Arabia respected for its quality and effective human resources management team. The medical crew comes from different nationality and has placed diversity at its core with over 60 different nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. Other than what happens indoors the company has made some medical journal productions which include bimonthly general medical journal and the Annals of Saudi Medicine. The facility also has a college that offers medical care training to students using the equipment of the facility. With this the facility aims at developing or attaining some development and continuity in the medical care system. The quality of the facility allows it to offer medical facilities for the Saudi Royal Family and other VIPs visiting the country. With such appealing portfolio King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre management has opted to adopt Global Standard 1 (Kouvelis Chambers & Wang 2006: 449469).