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This study aims to evaluate the dynamics between healthcare resource capacity expansion and disease spread. Further, the study estimates the resources required to respond to a pandemic appropriately.

This study adopts a system dynamics simulation and scenario analysis to experiment with the modification of the susceptible exposed infected and recovered (SEIR) model. The experiments evaluate diagnostic capacity expansion to identify suitable expansion plans and timelines. Afterwards, two popularly used forecasting tools, artificial neural network (ANN) and auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), are used to estimate the requirement of beds for a period when infection data became available.

The results from the study reflect that aggressive testing with isolation and integration of quarantine can be effective strategies to prevent disease outbreaks. The findings demonstrate that decision-makers must rapidly expand the diagnostic capacity during the first two weeks of the outbreak to support aggressive testing and isolation. Further, results confirm a healthcare resource deficit of at least two months for Delhi in the absence of these strategies. Also, the study findings highlight the importance of capacity expansion timelines by simulating a range of contact rates and disease infectivity in the early phase of the outbreak when various parameters are unknown. Further, it has been reflected that forecasting tools can effectively estimate healthcare resource requirements when pandemic data is available.

The models developed in the present study can be utilised by policymakers to suitably design the response plan. The decisions regarding how much diagnostics capacity is needed and when to expand capacity to minimise infection spread have been demonstrated for Delhi city. Also, the study proposed a decision support system (DSS) to assist the decision-maker in short- and long-term planning during the disease outbreak.

The study estimated the resources required for adopting an aggressive testing strategy. Several experiments were performed to successfully validate the robustness of the simulation model. The modification of SEIR model with diagnostic capacity increment, quarantine and testing block has been attempted to provide a distinct perspective on the testing strategy. The prevention of outbreaks has been addressed systematically.

This paper attempts to theorise about China’s strategy in combating the coronavirus pandemic with an embryonic framework - 3H (Heart-Head-Hand) framework. By adopting a descriptive approach, the paper introduces the case of coronavirus outbreak in China and how the public health administration coped with it. The 3H framework has been applied to analyse China’s strategy, and the framework’s assumptions are initially tested.

The pandemic case is created based on credible reports, press releases from different respected sources, World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, interview transcripts and broadcasting stations’ video clippings. Interpretive analysis with pragmatism approach has been conducted in analysing the data and information collected. Triangulation, wherever possible, has been done to validate the data and information.

As an exploratory study, its findings show that 3H framework distinguishes the effectiveness of a country’s strategy and practice for combating the pandemic. Countries, which failed to observe the assumed principles of 3H domains tend to have much more infected cases and deaths.

The 3H framework conceptualised a holistic management approach and its assumptions have been initially tested with this pandemic case. The framework shows its predictability value for a country’s pandemic management effectiveness.

Healthcare provision is costly, and patient expectations are increasing. Lean implemented within healthcare settings is one possible solution for dealing with this issue, with much of the current research in this respect mostly focused on developed countries. The research examines the applicability of lean in the healthcare sector of a developing country, specifically Oman.

Interviews were conducted with 32 individuals representing four public sector hospitals, along with two major hospital suppliers and the Ministry of Health. The readiness of lean thinking was assessed against seven criteria. Data were then analyzed thematically.

The authors found that Oman's healthcare sector is strong on leadership support, understanding value and customer groups, ability to undertake an end-to-end process view and engaging in the required training for lean. Interviewees showed awareness of the challenges, including aligning lean with the strategic agenda of healthcare settings, aligning measurement and reward systems to lean thinking and matching demand and capacity levels. The authors conclude that Oman's healthcare sector is ready for widespread application of lean, and if executed successfully, will generate strong strategic and operational outcomes.

This paper provides evidence of the applicability of lean in a very different context to the one that has been generally reported in the literature. The authors propose that lean thinking can be applied in countries and regions with similar cultural contexts such as the Middle East.

Healthcare provision in Denmark reflects some of the key principles of the welfare state. By securing relatively easy and equal access for all Danish residents regardless of income via general tax financing, the Danish healthcare system has strong ethical merits. All residents are entitled to comprehensive healthcare services. The Danish healthcare system is also relatively efficient. Total healthcare expenditures – including public and private – amount to 10% of GDP, above the OECD 8.8% average but well below the costs in the other Nordic countries, Germany, Switzerland and the United Stated. Notwithstanding its merits, healthcare in Denmark shares key predicaments with other OECD countries, primarily how to improve health outcomes while containing care expenditures. All of the OECD countries aim to improve population life expectancy and health quality. Yet their ageing and increasingly obese populations are exacerbating the demands on their respective healthcare systems. This chapter examines changes in how Denmark has managed these challenges. The main argument is that the healthcare system performance on managing health outcomes and costs improved remarkably from the 1990s to the early 2020s, although outcome inequalities remain. Notable changes in the system were targeted innovations in treatment procedures and expansion of municipal rehabilitation and preventive efforts, along with strict budget controls.

This study evaluated the influence of the coronavirus pandemic on the healthcare and non-cold pharmaceutical care distribution supply chain.

The model involves four objective functions to minimize the total costs, environmental impacts, lead time and the probability of a healthcare provider being infected by a sick person was developed. An improved version of the augmented e-constraint method was applied to solve the proposed model for a case study of a distribution company to show the effectiveness of the proposed model. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify the sensitive parameters. Finally, two robust models were developed to overcome the innate uncertainty of sensitive parameters.

The result demonstrated a significant reduction in total costs, environmental impacts, lead time and probability of a healthcare worker being infected from a sick person by 40%, 30%, 75% and 54%, respectively, under the coronavirus pandemic compared to the normal condition. It should be noted that decreasing lead time and disease infection rate could reduce mortality and promote the model's effectiveness.

Implementing this model could assist the healthcare and pharmaceutical distributors to make more informed decisions to minimize the cost, lead time, environmental impacts and enhance their supply chain resiliency.

This study introduced an objective function to consider the coronavirus infection rates among the healthcare workers impacted by the pharmaceutical/healthcare products supply chain. This study considered both economic and environmental consequences caused by the coronavirus pandemic condition, which occurred on a significantly larger scale than past pandemic and epidemic crises.

The general population relies on the healthcare system for needed care during disasters. Unfortunately, the system is already operating at capacity. Healthcare facilities must develop plans to accommodate the surge of patients generated during disasters. The purpose of this paper is to examine a concept for providing independent, technologically advanced medical surge capacity via a Convertible Use Rapidly Expandable (CURE) Center.

To develop this concept, a site was chosen to work through a scenario involving a large earthquake. Although the study‐affiliated hospital was built with then state‐of‐the‐art technologies, there is still concern for its continued functioning should a large earthquake occur. Working within these parameters, the planning team applied the concepts to a specific educational complex. Because this complex was in the initial building stages, required attributes could be incorporated, making the concept a potential reality. Challenges with operations, communications, and technologies were identified and addressed in the context of planning for delivery of quality healthcare.

The process highlighted several requirements. Planning must include community leaders, enhanced by agencies or individuals experienced in disaster response. Analyzing regional threats in the context of available resources comes first, and reaching a consensus on the scope of operation is required. This leads to an operational plan, and in turn to understanding the needs for a specific site. Use of computer modeling and virtual deployment of the center indicates where additional planning is needed.

Previous strategies for increasing surge capacity rely on continued availability of hospital resources, alternative care sites with minimal medical capability, or, costly hospital expansions. Development of a site‐specific CURE Center can allow communities to provide fiscally responsible solutions for sustained medical care during disasters.

To understand how the Take Home Naloxone (THN) program is implemented in two pilot correctional facilities in British Columbia (BC), Canada, in order to identify areas for program improvement and inform the expansion of the program to other Canadian correctional facilities The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Two focus groups and one interview were conducted with healthcare staff at two pilot correctional facilities. Sessions were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and divergent and convergent experiences within and between the facilities were explored in an iterative process. Key themes and lessons learned were identified and later validated by focus group participants.

Key themes that emerged included: challenges and importance of the train-the-trainer program for healthcare staff conducting participant training sessions; potential for improved prison population engagement and awareness of the program; tailoring program resources to the unique needs of an incarcerated population; challenges connecting participants to community harm reduction resources following release; and clarifying and enhancing the role of correctional officers to support the program.

The correctional setting presents unique challenges and opportunities for the THN program that must be considered for program effectiveness.

This evaluation was conducted to inform program expansion amidst a historic opioid overdose epidemic in BC, and adds to the limited yet growing body of literature on the implementation and evaluation of this program in correctional settings globally.

We argue that in order to address the contemporary challenges that organizations and societies are facing, the field of organization development (OD) requires frameworks and skills to focus on the eco-system as the level of analysis. In a world that has become economically, socially, and technologically highly connected, approaches that foster the optimization of specific actors in the eco-system, such as individual corporations, result in sub-optimization of the sustainability of the natural and social system because there is insufficient offset to the ego-centric purposes of the focal organization. We discuss the need for OD to broaden focus to deal with technological advances that enable new ways of organizing at the eco-system level, and to deal with the challenges to sustainable development. Case examples from healthcare and the agri-foods industry illustrate the kinds of development approaches that are required for the development of healthy eco-systems. We do not suggest fundamental changes in the identity of the field of organizational development. In fact, we demonstrate the need to dig deeply into the open systems and socio-technical roots of the field, and to translate the traditional values and approaches of OD to continue to be relevant in today’s dynamic interdependent world.

Purpose of this paper is to identify capabilities required for healthcare service providers to provide mass personalized services and to provide directions to conduct empirical studies to understand the phenomenon of mass personalization in Indian healthcare industry.

The research is conducted by undertaking a literature review followed by field visits and interviews conducted at a leading healthcare service provider in India.

There is limited empirical research on understanding the mass personalization capabilities in healthcare setting and empirical validation of the sand cone model and theory of competitive progression in the context of healthcare. Our interviews and field visits to Narayana Hrudayalaya (NH) indicate that it is attempting to provide personalized services to a large number and variety of patients. By doing so, it is expected to improve on both resource and flow efficiencies at the same time and hence break the trade‐offs between those. Literature review coupled with field visits and interviews help us in identifying key research questions related to mass personalization of healthcare in Indian healthcare industry.

This study is one of the first attempts to understand this trade‐off between resource and flow efficiency in the context of the Indian healthcare industry and to identify areas for future research. The unique characteristics of the Indian healthcare industry provide the ideal research setting to study this phenomenon. Literature review and our exploratory study have helped us in providing directions for future research in this unexplored area.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the patient comes to be seen as a solution to governance problems.

The paper studies health policy discourse in Denmark from 1970 to 2000. Based on an analysis of national policy documents, the paper traces how the patient is redefined as part of governance problems.

The paper suggests that “the new patient” coincides with changes in healthcare governance and is not just a clinical concern. The persona of the patient has been mobilized in dissimilar ways in addressing specific policy problems, resulting in both a duty-based idea of a socio-economically responsible patient and a rights-based idea of a demanding health-service consumer.

The study is limited to policy documents that address healthcare governance in one country. It does not describe the broader evolution of patient ideas or the practical impact of political discourses.

Practitioners should expect to encounter conflicting views of patient responsibilities, interests and involvement. Such conflicts are not only related to a lack of conceptual clarity but are indicative of how the new, active and responsible patient has become a key clinical concern and a central element of health policy governance.

The paper contributes to the understanding of “the new patient” in discussions on patient-centred healthcare and empowerment by emphasizing the definition of the patient in a political context. The latter has often been ignored in existing research.