IDENTIFICATION OF HEALTHCARE SUPPLY CHAIN PRACTICES USING THE FUZZY-DELPHI APPROACH

Abstract

In Nigeria, the healthcare supply chain system has been described as fragmented, uncoordinated, and inflexible in meeting patient ever-changing demands. Thus, the need to effectively and resourcefully manage health care supplies cannot be overemphasized as it depicts a drastic influence on the efficiency of the health system, as medications fail to meet the right end-user at the right time, right cost, right quality, and the right place. Therefore, to meet customer demands, the implementation of supply chain practices is of paramount need. In view of this, the study is focused on assessing the experts’ communal opinion on significant supply chain practices needed in enhancing the overall efficiency of the healthcare supply chain system of the Lagos University of Teaching University (LUTH) with the aid of the fuzzy Delphi approach. Using a cross-sectional survey approach, three out of five supply chain experts’ opinions were analyzed and it was found that ten (10) out of twenty assessed supply chain practices are relevant to the healthcare supply chain system of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). However, to achieve timely efficiency in the healthcare supply chain, the most important practices are the reduction of redundancy and unnecessary materials, the usage of information technology in integrating activities within the healthcare, prequalification of suppliers, and rapid response to special demands with respect to their defuzzy value without negating the spontaneous effects of demand visibility, flexible sourcing, and value stream analysis.