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1 – 10 of 450Venkataramanaiah Saddikuti, Surya Prakash, Vijaydeep Siddharth, Kanika Jain and Sidhartha Satpathy
The primary objective of this article is to examine current procurement, inventory control and management practices in modern healthcare, with a particular focus on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary objective of this article is to examine current procurement, inventory control and management practices in modern healthcare, with a particular focus on the procurement and management of surgical supplies in a prominent public, highly specialized healthcare sector.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted in three phases. In Phase 1, the study team interacted with various hospital management stakeholders, including the surgical hospital store, examined the current procurement process and identified challenges. Phase 2 focused on selecting items for a detailed study and collected the qualitative and quantitative details of the store department of the healthcare sector chosen. A detailed study analyzed revenue, output/demand, inventory levels, etc. In Phase 3, a decision-making framework is proposed, and inventory control systems are redesigned and demonstrated for the selected items.
Findings
It was observed that the demand for many surgical items had increased significantly over the years due to an increase in disposable/disposable items, while inventories fluctuated widely. Maximum inventory levels varied between 50 and 75%. Storage and availability were important issues for the hospital. It is assumed the hospital adopts the proposed inventory control system. In this case, the benefits can be a saving of 62% of the maximum inventory, 20% of the average stock in the system and optimal use of storage space, improving the performance and productivity of the hospital.
Research limitations/implications
This study can help the healthcare sector administration to develop better systems for the procurement and delivery of common surgical items and efficient resource allocation. It can help provide adequate training to store staff. This study can help improve management/procurement policies, ordering and delivery systems, better service levels, and inventory control of items in the hospital business context. This study can serve as a pilot study to further investigate the overall hospital operations.
Practical implications
This study can help the healthcare sector administration develop better systems for procuring and delivering common surgical items and efficient resource allocation. It can help provide adequate training to store staff. This study can help improve management/procurement policies, ordering and delivery systems, better service levels and inventory control of items in the hospital business context. This study can serve as a pilot study to further investigate the overall hospital operations.
Originality/value
This study is an early attempt to develop a decision framework and inventory control system from the perspective of healthcare inventory management. The gaps identified in real hospital scenarios are investigated, and theoretically based-inventory management strategies are applied and proposed.
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Mawloud Titah and Mohammed Abdelghani Bouchaala
This paper aims to establish an efficient maintenance management system tailored for healthcare facilities, recognizing the crucial role of medical equipment in providing timely…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to establish an efficient maintenance management system tailored for healthcare facilities, recognizing the crucial role of medical equipment in providing timely and precise patient care.
Design/methodology/approach
The system is designed to function both as an information portal and a decision-support system. A knowledge-based approach is adopted centered on Semantic Web Technologies (SWTs), leveraging a customized ontology model for healthcare facilities’ knowledge capitalization. Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL) is integrated to address decision-support aspects, including equipment criticality assessment, maintenance strategies selection and contracting policies assignment. Additionally, Semantic Query-enhanced Web Rule Language (SQWRL) is incorporated to streamline the retrieval of decision-support outcomes and other useful information from the system’s knowledge base. A real-life case study conducted at the University Hospital Center of Oran (Algeria) illustrates the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Findings
Case study results reveal that 40% of processed equipment is highly critical, 40% is of medium criticality, and 20% is of negligible criticality. The system demonstrates significant efficacy in determining optimal maintenance strategies and contracting policies for the equipment, leveraging combined knowledge and data-driven inference. Overall, SWTs showcases substantial potential in addressing maintenance management challenges within healthcare facilities.
Originality/value
An innovative model for healthcare equipment maintenance management is introduced, incorporating ontology, SWRL and SQWRL, and providing efficient data integration, coordinated workflows and data-driven context-aware decisions, while maintaining optimal flexibility and cross-departmental interoperability, which gives it substantial potential for further development.
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Salman Butt, Ahmed Raza, Rabia Siddiqui, Yasir Saleem, Bill Cook and Habib Khan
This literature review aims to assess the current research on healthcare job availability and skilled professionals. The objective of this research is to identify challenges…
Abstract
Purpose
This literature review aims to assess the current research on healthcare job availability and skilled professionals. The objective of this research is to identify challenges caused by the imbalance between healthcare service demand and qualified professionals and propose potential solutions and future research directions.
Design/methodology/approach
The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method was employed as the guiding framework for conducting this review. A qualitative research design analyzed 38 peer-reviewed, evidence-based research works from 50 journal publications. Inclusion criteria focused on empirical studies, observational research and comprehensive reviews published within the last ten years. Thematic and discourse analysis categorized themes and factors explored in selected publications.
Findings
The findings highlight significant challenges in the healthcare sector regarding job availability and skilled professionals. Developed countries face understaffed healthcare facilities, resulting in increased workloads and compromised care. Developing countries experience high rates of unemployment among healthcare graduates due to limited resources and mentorship.
Practical implications
Improving educational infrastructure, expanding training opportunities and increasing healthcare investments are crucial for nurturing a skilled workforce. Implementing effective retention policies, fostering international collaborations and addressing socioeconomic determinants can create a sustainable job market.
Originality/value
The healthcare sector faces critical challenges in balancing job availability and skilled professionals. Strategic solutions are proposed to create a sustainable and equitable healthcare workforce. By implementing recommendations and conducting further research, access to quality healthcare and global public health outcomes can be improved.
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Salima Hamouche, Zakariya Chabani and Mohamed Dawood Shamout
The prevention of mental health issues at work represents a significant challenge for organizations. The transformation of workplaces whose future promises to be virtual or hybrid…
Abstract
Purpose
The prevention of mental health issues at work represents a significant challenge for organizations. The transformation of workplaces whose future promises to be virtual or hybrid can make the anticipation and prevention of these health issues more challenging, considering the potential distance that it may create between employees and their employers. The recent health crisis undermined individual mental health but also highlighted the importance of new technologies which greatly paved the way for the future of workplaces. This paper aims to examine these new technologies, specifically the use of blockchain technologies in organizations to predict and prevent mental health issues at work, specifically psychological distress, in times of crisis, and beyond. It addresses the main challenges and opportunities and presents research avenues as well as insights for human resource management (HRM) practitioners.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a viewpoint that addresses the use of blockchain technology in the prevention of employees’ mental health at work in times of crisis and beyond. Literature was used to support this viewpoint and highlight the importance of addressing mental health issues at work and preventing their occurrence in the future.
Findings
Blockchain is one of the disruptive new technologies that can be used as a strategic tool for organizations to prevent mental health issues among employees in the workplace in times of crisis, and beyond. It facilitates the collaboration between employees, their organization, healthcare and employee assistance program (EPA) providers, as well as insurance companies. In this context, a specific type of blockchain should be used to support this type of collaboration.
Practical implications
Blockchain can generate both opportunities and challenges for the prevention of mental issues at work. It can transform the future of workplaces and help organizations as well as healthcare and EPA providers to anticipate potential employees’ mental health issues in 2019. Organizations need to address their readiness to implement this new technology and the possible reluctance of their employees to use it. This paper presents insights for managers and HRM practitioners.
Originality/value
The studies that have addressed the use of blockchain in organizations to prevent employees’ mental health issues are sparse. This paper is an attempt to address this gap and examine the challenges as well as the opportunities associated with the use of this disruptive new technology that can significantly reshape the future of workplaces.
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The purpose of this study is to propose a research model based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model to examine whether media richness (MR), human-system interaction…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to propose a research model based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model to examine whether media richness (MR), human-system interaction (HSI) and human-human interaction (HHI) as technological feature antecedents to medical professionals’ learning engagement (LE) can affect their learning persistence (LP) in massive open online courses (MOOCs).
Design/methodology/approach
Sample data for this study were collected from medical professionals at six university-/medical university-affiliated hospitals in Taiwan. A total of 600 questionnaires were distributed, and 309 (51.5%) usable questionnaires were analyzed using structural equation modeling in this study.
Findings
This study certified that medical professionals’ perceived MR, HSI and HHI in MOOCs positively affected their emotional LE, cognitive LE and social LE elicited by MOOCs, which together explained their LP in MOOCs. The results support all proposed hypotheses and the research model accounts for 84.1% of the variance in medical professionals’ LP in MOOCs.
Originality/value
This study uses the S-O-R model as a theoretical base to construct medical professionals’ LP in MOOCs as a series of the psychological process, which is affected by MR and interaction (i.e. HSI and HHI). Noteworthily, three psychological constructs, emotional LE, cognitive LE and social LE, are adopted to represent medical professionals’ organisms of MOOCs adoption. To date, hedonic/utilitarian concepts are more commonly adopted as organisms in prior studies using the S-O-R model and psychological constructs have received lesser attention. Hence, this study enriches the S-O-R model into an invaluable context, and this study’s contribution on the application of capturing psychological constructs for completely explaining three types of technological features as external stimuli to medical professionals’ LP in MOOCs is well-documented.
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Ngatindriatun Ngatindriatun, Muhammad Alfarizi and Rafialdo Arifian
This study aims to explore the empirical correlation between patient flow issues, quality of green health services and patient satisfaction in specialist medical department…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the empirical correlation between patient flow issues, quality of green health services and patient satisfaction in specialist medical department factors from patients’ perspectives as service consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is a type of nonintervention empirical research that uses an open survey to explore the views and experiences of users of specialist medical department services. The targeted population is hospital patients included in the top five national PERSI (Indonesian Hospital Association) Award 2022 Green Hospital Category, with a total number of respondents of 572 people. This study uses the partial least square-structural equation modeling analysis method with the SmartPLS application.
Findings
Patient flow problems generally affect the quality of eco-friendly health services, except for the waiting time problem, which affects service quality. It should be understood as a top priority for patients to receive services from medical specialists without risking time as a core service aspect from the patient’s perspective. In addition, all variables in eco-friendly hospital services affect patient satisfaction, except in the case of visits to specialist medical departments, which do not affect medical support services and hospital practices that are responsive to the delivery of care services resulting from medical support services that are inseparable in integrated services as well as health care following medical ethics.
Originality/value
This study has a novelty in understanding the implications of green practice in determining patient satisfaction in medical specialist department as the epicenter of hospital services and the main object of assessment for the quality of hospital services.
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Ying Zhou, Yu Wang, Chenshuang Li, Lieyun Ding and Cong Wang
This study aimed to propose a performance-oriented approach of automatically generative design and optimization of hospital building layouts in consideration of public health…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to propose a performance-oriented approach of automatically generative design and optimization of hospital building layouts in consideration of public health emergency, which intended to conduct reasonable layout design of hospital building to meet different performance requirements for both high efficiency during normal periods and low risk in the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design follows a sequential mixed methodology. First, key points and parameters of hospital building layout design (HBLD) are analyzed. Then, to meet the requirements of high efficiency and low risk, adjacent preference score and infection risk coefficient are constructed as constraints. On this basis, automatic generative design is conducted to generate building layout schemes. Finally, multi-objective deviation analysis is carried out to obtain the optimal scheme of hospital building layouts.
Findings
Automatic generative design of building layouts that integrates adjacent preferences and infection risks enables hospitals to achieve rapid transitions between normal (high efficiency) and pandemic (low risk) periods, which can effectively respond to public health emergencies. The proposed approach has been verified in an actual project, which can help systematically explore the solution for better decision-making.
Research limitations/implications
The form of building layouts is limited to rectangles, and future work can explore conducting irregular layouts into optimization for the framework of generative design.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is the developed approach that can quickly and effectively generate more hospital layout alternatives satisfying high operational efficiency and low infection risk by formulating space design rules, which is of great significance in response to public health emergency.
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Lina Zhong, Xiaonan Li, Sunny Sun, Rob Law and Mengyao Zhu
Existing tourism review articles have limited review topics and cover a relatively short period. This review paper aims to extend the coverage of the previous literature and…
Abstract
Purpose
Existing tourism review articles have limited review topics and cover a relatively short period. This review paper aims to extend the coverage of the previous literature and enhances the completeness of tourism-related studies to provide comprehensive tourism-related literature from 1945 (World War II onward) to 2022. Specifically, this paper reveals the major research themes present in published tourism research during this time period and highlights the evolution of tourism research from the preliminary phase, the transversal phase, to the growth phase.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study visualizes tourism research through networks of coauthors and their countries and regions, cocitation analysis of keywords and explores the thematic evolution of tourism research after the World War II (i.e., 1945–2022) from Web of Science and Google Scholar through bibliometric analysis.
Findings
Findings reveal that the themes of tourism research in the past years can be divided into seven major research themes. The tourism research evolution from World War II to 2022 can be categorized into three stages: preliminary (1945–1970), transversal (1971–2004) and growth (2005–2022). In addition, the research themes of tourism are not static but evolve according to the dynamics of the society and the industry, and that seven main research themes have been formed, namely, “heritage tourism,” “medical tourism,” “adventure tourism,” “dark tourism,” “sustainable tourism,” “rural tourism” and “smart tourism.”
Originality/value
The present study expands and refines the comprehensive literature in tourism research, as well as reveals the trends and dynamics in tourism research through network analysis and thematic evolution research methods.
目的
现有的旅游评论文章在审查主题方面有限, 并且涵盖的时间相对较短。本综述文章扩展了先前文献的涵盖范围, 增强了与旅游相关研究的完整性, 提供了从1945年(第二次世界大战之后)到2022年的全面旅游相关文献。具体而言, 本文揭示了此期间发表的旅游研究中的主要研究主题, 并突出了旅游研究从初步阶段、横向阶段到增长阶段的演变。
设计/方法/途径
本研究通过共同作者及其国家的网络、关键词的共同引用分析, 将旅游研究可视化, 并探索二战后旅游研究的主题演变。本研究通过文献计量学分析, 将 Web of Science (WoS) 和 Google Scholar 中的旅游研究(即 1945–2022 年)可视化。
研究结果
研究结果显示, 过去几年的旅游研究主题可分为七大研究主题。从第二次世界大战到 2022 年的旅游研究演变可分为三个阶段:初步阶段(1945–1970 年)、横向阶段(1971–2004 年)和成长阶段2005–2022 年)。此外, 旅游的研究主题并不是静态的, 而是根据社会和行业的动态而演变, 形成了七个主要研究主题, 即“遗产旅游”、“医疗旅游”、“冒险旅游”、“黑暗旅游”、“可持续旅游”、“乡村旅游”和“智慧旅游”。
原创性
本研究通过网络分析和主题演变研究方法扩展和完善了旅游研究方面的综合文献, 并揭示了旅游研究的趋势和动态。
Objetivo
Los artículos de revisión existentes sobre turismo tienen temas de revisión limitados y cubren un periodo relativamente corto. Este artículo de revisión amplía la cobertura de la bibliografía anterior y mejora la exhaustividad de los estudios relacionados con el turismo para ofrecer una bibliografía exhaustiva sobre el turismo desde 1945 (Segunda Guerra Mundial en adelante) hasta 2022. En concreto, este documento revela los principales temas de investigación presentes en la investigación turística publicada durante este periodo de tiempo y destaca la evolución de la investigación turística desde la fase preliminar, la fase transversal, hasta la fase de crecimiento.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
El presente estudio visualiza la investigación turística a través de redes de coautores y sus países y regiones, análisis de co-citación de palabras clave, y explora la evolución temática de la investigación turística después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial (es decir, 1945–2022) a partir de Web of Science y Google Scholar mediante análisis bibliométricos.
Resultados
Los resultados revelan que los temas de la investigación turística de los últimos años pueden dividirse en siete grandes temas de investigación. La evolución de la investigación turística desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial hasta 2022 puede clasificarse en tres etapas: preliminar (1945–1970), transversal (1971–2004) y de crecimiento (2005–2022). Además, los temas de investigación del turismo no son estáticos, sino que evolucionan según la dinámica de la sociedad y de la industria, y que se han formado siete temas principales de investigación, a saber: “turismo patrimonial”, “turismo médico”, “turismo de aventura”, “turismo oscuro”, “turismo sostenible”, “turismo rural” y “turismo inteligente”.
Originalidad/valor
El presente estudio amplía y perfecciona la amplia bibliografía existente en el campo de la investigación turística, además de revelar las tendencias y la dinámica de la investigación turística mediante el análisis de redes y los métodos de investigación de evolución temática.
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Jared D. Harris, Samuel L. Slover, Bradley R. Agle, George W. Romney, Jenny Mead and Jimmy Scoville
In early 2014, recent Stanford University graduate Tyler Shultz was in a quandary. He had been working at Theranos, a blood-diagnostic company founded by Elizabeth Holmes, a…
Abstract
In early 2014, recent Stanford University graduate Tyler Shultz was in a quandary. He had been working at Theranos, a blood-diagnostic company founded by Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford-dropout wunderkind, for almost a year. Shultz had learned enough about the company to realize that its practices and the efficacy of its much-touted finger-prick blood-testing technology were questionable and that the company was going to great lengths to hide this fact from the public and from regulators.
Theranos and Holmes were Silicon Valley darlings, enjoying positive press and lavish attention from potential investors and technology titans alike. Just as companies like PayPal had revolutionized the stagnant payments industry and Uber had upended the for-hire transportation sector, Theranos had been positioned as the latest technology firm to substantially disrupt yet another mature sector: the medical laboratory business. By the start of 2014, the company had raised more than $400 million in funding, and had an estimated market valuation of $9 billion.
Shultz's situation was exacerbated by the fact that his grandfather, the highly respected former US Secretary of State George Shultz, was on the Theranos board and was one of Elizabeth Holmes's biggest supporters.
But Tyler Shultz worried about the customers he was convinced were receiving highly unreliable and often inaccurate blood-test results. With so much at stake, Shultz wondered how he should proceed. Should he raise his concerns with the firm's investors? Blow the whistle externally? Report to industry regulators? Go away quietly?
This case and its subsequent four brief follow-up cases are based largely on interviews with Tyler Shultz, and outline the dilemma he faced and the various steps he would take both to extricate himself from his unsavory position and let the public know the full extent of the deception at Theranos.
Five optional handouts are available to instructors to further discussion after the case has been debriefed. The handouts serve as additional decision points for the students if your class time permits.
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Wei Zhang, Hui Yuan, Chengyan Zhu, Qiang Chen, Richard David Evans and Chen Min
Although governments have used social media platforms to interact with the public in an attempt to minimize anxiety and provide a forum for public discussion during the pandemic…
Abstract
Purpose
Although governments have used social media platforms to interact with the public in an attempt to minimize anxiety and provide a forum for public discussion during the pandemic, governments require sufficient crisis communication skills to engage citizens in taking appropriate action effectively. This study aims to examine how the National Health Commission of China (NHCC) has used TikTok, the leading short video–based platform, to facilitate public engagement during COVID-19.
Design/methodology/approach
Building upon dual process theories, this study integrates the activation of information exposure, prosocial interaction theory and social sharing of emotion theory to explore how public engagement is related to message sensation value (MSV), media character, content theme and emotional valence. A total of 354 TikTok videos posted by NHCC were collected during the pandemic to explore the determinants of public engagement in crises.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that MSV negatively predicts public engagement with government TikTok, but that instructional information increases engagement. The presence of celebrities and health-care professionals negatively affects public engagement with government TikTok accounts. In addition, emotional valence serves a moderating role between MSV, media characters and public engagement.
Originality/value
Government agencies must be fully aware of the different combinations of MSV and emotion use in the video title when releasing crisis-related videos. Government agencies can also leverage media characters – health professionals in particular – to enhance public engagement. Government agencies are encouraged to solicit public demand for the specific content of instructing information through data mining techniques.
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