Causal relationship of supply chain efficiency and patient safety in measuring internal hospital supply chain performance applying DEMATEL

Abstract

Measuring hospital supply chain is essential to the improvement of hospital performance. However, the previous measurement of hospital supply chain neglected the goal of patient safety which is believed to be the ultimate goal of healthcare. Patient who go to the hospital normally seek diagnosis and treatment from doctors. To complete diagnosis or treatment for a patient requires services from clinical as well as other supporting services such as pharmaceutical, laboratory and x-ray. The efficiency in both clinical and supporting services could eventually affect patient safety. The study is initiated with an objective to explore the relationship between efficiency in clinical service and supporting services as well as patient safety. The study of such relationship begins with a literature survey regarding performance criteria for clinical service efficiency, supporting services efficiency and patient safety. The survey is then developed for an application of decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL). The surveys are issued to doctors and medical staff members who are in upper management level of hospitals to evaluate the importance of performance criteria and the causal relationship among these criteria. The result shows that from the experts' point of view, efficiency in both supporting and clinical services is approximately equally important to the supply chain of hospital. Moreover, the efficiency of supporting processes is the most influence to hospital supply chain and affects both efficiency of clinical service and patient safety in some aspects. Moreover, within the efficiency of supporting services and clinical service, productivity of supporting services and cost of clinical services are the two major influences to the hospital supply chain. Therefore, to improve the performance of hospital supply chain has to focus on improving productivity of supporting services and cost of clinical service.