Health 4.0 and Medical Supply Chain

Table of Contents

1. Frontmatter

2. Introduction Chapter

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 1. Introduction

      İsmail İyigün, Ömer Faruk Görçün

      Abstract

      Using high technologies for producing health services can assist in providing more satisfactory healthcare services, as it can help diagnose and decide on treatment. It can help to increase the quality of auxiliary health services, such as health logistics, supplying medical substances and drugs, and healthcare waste disposal. The present book suggests new and unprecedented ways to understand the central concept of health 4.0 and its emerging technological implementations. For this aim, the book's authors examined technological implementation used or will be used in the healthcare industry. They synthesized the information concerning these technologies and their abilities and benefits to health professionals and patients in the present industry. After the introduction section, given the scope, concept, and future of health 4.0 in detail, examined the new tools for distribution management in the health industry. As a well-known fact for scholars and practitioners dealing with the health industry, distribution operations, a significant part of the logistics activities, play a crucial role in producing and providing successful health services.

3. Manageral Issues in Health 4.0 and Medical Supply Chain

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 2. New Tools for Distribution Management in Health Industry

      Hazar Dördüncü

      Abstract

      The usage area of distribution methods in the healthcare industry is diverse and vast. Essentially, various elements of the distribution systems are used until the patient leaves the institution at the end of the recovery period, supplying the drugs necessary for the treatment, the health and hygiene equipment to be used for surgical intervention when necessary, and the storage of the equipment and the reverse logistics that will be formed as a result of the treatment period are included in the management processes of health care. Consistency and efficiency are being sought to conduct a qualified and convenient healthcare service for the patients. Thus, new tools are being established to comprehend the challenges and requirements that the developing industry of healthcare needs.

   3. Chapter 3. An Assessment of the Financial Performance of Hospital Services Sub-Sector in Turkey by Ratio Analysis Method

      Mustafa Çanakçıoğlu

      Abstract

      The present study made use of the sector balance sheets of “Q-861 Hospital Services Sub-Sector” for the years 2015–2020, which was recently published by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB), which maintains the largest financial data on the hospital services sub-sector. The 6-year time period above was selected for the purposes of the study on the grounds that TCMB published the most up-to-date sector balance sheets for the said timeframe. The present study also aimed to investigate the financial structure of the hospitals operating in this sector in Turkey prior to the COVID-19 pandemic across the world. In general, ratio analysis, parametric, and non-parametric methods are used to measure the performance levels of hospital enterprises. The present study employed ratio analysis, a financial analysis method to assess the performance levels thereof. The financial performance of the sector was assessed in the study using 15 criteria, including liquidity, financial, activity, and profitability ratios.

   4. Chapter 4. Pharmaceutical Warehousing 4.0 in Healthcare Supply Chain

      Mahmut Tutam

      Abstract

      Over the last decade, many countries have suffered from supply chain disruptions for different products because of the ever-increasing global problems with devastating financial and social consequences. In response, most companies revisit their just-in-case supply chain strategies and shift them to just-in-case models. As a result, warehouses acting as barriers to unexpected circumstances have become more crucial than ever in human history. Apparently, warehousing plays an essential role in any industry but a critical role in health care because of the possible results of any instability and lateness in pharmaceutical deliveries. Different from conventional warehouses, thousands of pharmaceuticals are received, stored, and preserved in pharmaceutical warehouses (pharmahouses) under special storage, handling, temperature, ventilation, and lighting conditions. Moreover, with the increasing older population and chronological or pandemic diseases, thousands of pharmaceuticals are delivered daily to patients, healthcare providers, or pharmacies. Therefore, recent technological advancements are continuously adopted by pharmahouses to cope with the ever-increasing conditions and demand. This chapter presents the history of pharmahouses and their transformation from primitive cellars or storerooms to intelligent facilities.

4. AI and Big Data in Health 4.0 and Medical Supply Chain

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 5. Internet of Things (IoT) Technologies and Implementation in the Healthcare Industry

      Mustafa Ozan

      Abstract

      Internet of Things (IoT) technology, an essential part of the technological revolution emerging in the era of Industry 4.0, has become a critical success factor for almost all industries. Aside from its destructive effects in various industries, it presents new opportunities and advantages. Also, the healthcare industry is a critical sector using high-tech devices and equipment compared to many traditional industries. In today’s conditions, producing a health service without using these devices and technological equipment is impossible. All health staff need to diagnose using these technological instruments to start treatment. Furthermore, dependency on technology in the health industry continues to increase with each passing day. Therefore, understanding these technologies and creating logical and reasonable solutions is an essential task for practitioners in the health industry. By keeping these requirements in mind, the current paper systematically evaluates the Internet of things technology and its implementation in the current industry.

   3. Chapter 6. Using Artificial Intelligence in Health and Medical Supply Chains

      Hacı Mehmet Alakaş, Tamer Eren

      Abstract

      In the supply chain, strategic and tactical decisions are taken to ensure the correct flow of raw materials and products from the raw material to the end user. These decisions are supported by using various methods in the sub-stages of the supply chain such as demand forecasting, creation of the supply network, supplier selection, production and distribution planning, and inventory management. Among these methods, the use of artificial intelligence has been increasing in recent years. Artificial intelligence techniques are one of the important tools used to support decisions in the supply chain, as before and after the pandemic. In this study, the need for artificial intelligence techniques in supply chain decisions in the post-pandemic period in the health sector was evaluated. The sub-stages of the supply chain were evaluated according to the determined criteria, and it was determined for which sub-stage the development of artificial intelligence techniques was more important. The analytical network process method was used to prioritize the sub-stages according to the criteria. Evaluations about which method should be used in which sub-stages according to the prioritization are also presented in the study.

   4. Chapter 7. Robotics Systems and Healthcare Logistics

      Ezgi Uzel Aydınocak

      Abstract

      Including waste management, warehousing, inventory management, equipment maintenance, sanitation, and transportation, healthcare logistics has focused on providing more innovative and value-added services in recent years. Therefore healthcare services should be examined and aligned with the objectives of the entire healthcare supply chain to meet the needs of both individuals and organizations. This will help to improve the supply chain performance so that reflects on the patient outcomes. Lack of efficient storage areas, increasing wages/salaries, and some activities that are conducted by healthcare employees manually are the priority areas that require solutions. According to studies in the field of health logistics, supply chain activities take more than the time spent on patient care. In addition, the logistics activities that have to be done manually by the health personnel leave a negative impression on the patients. Based on these, healthcare logistics should be improved in order to decrease the level of fatigue of healthcare personnel and create more time to interact with patients. Serving various tasks and purposes in many business sector, robots are preparing to become one of the most important technological innovations for healthcare industry. Nowadays, the robotics community is largely focused on developing the next generation of service and social robots. It is predicted that the use of robots in diagnostics, surgery, rehabilitation, patient care, disinfection and cleaning, medicine and food distribution, vital signs measurement, disease prevention, and disease management will increase performance in healthcare services. Among these, robots providing disinfection and logistics services are predicted to have the shortest-term impact.

   5. Chapter 8. Big Data and Its Implementation in Health Industry

      Şeyda Gür, Tamer Eren

      Abstract

      The concept of big data is defined as the data obtained in large quantities and the information formed by their processing. From the perspective of the health sector, the concept of big data consists of data such as patients’ health histories, medical examination records, and treatment processes. For these data to be transformed into meaningful information, methods and analyses must be done correctly and robustly. Technological tools should be used for efficient management and analysis of big data. At the same time, with the development of technology, tools, and applications that accelerate the processes in terms of the health sector have started to be developed. From the point of view of hospitals, a new environment has begun to be created for operating rooms, which are one of the most important units among income and expense items. In these environments, which are referred to as the concept of the hybrid operating room, many different specialities are practiced. In these environments, simultaneous imaging, biopsy diagnosis, and operation are provided by surgeons and their teams. For this reason, big data are created at once. Information is created, in which these data are simultaneously processed and used in the operation process. For all stages, there is big data consisting of the patient's medical history, medical, and clinical data in terms of patient health. The systematic storage, analysis, processing, and use of these data when necessary is of critical importance for patient health. This importance is increasing even more for hybrid operating rooms. To carry out operations in these environments, it may be necessary to use this information in scheduling processes. The operating room scheduling concept is the schedules that are optimally prepared for the most efficient use of operating rooms. While there are already many uncertainties for operating rooms, these uncertainties increase for operating rooms used as hybrids, and the use of huge amounts of data revealed here can directly affect the efficiency of the created charts, thus the process of these environments. In this study, the importance of big data concept for scheduling processes in hybrid operating rooms will be discussed. It will be examined how the data obtained in hybrid operating rooms where many operations are performed in the same area will affect the efficiency of the scheduling processes.

5. Future and Decision Making of Health 4.0 and Medical Supply Chain

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 9. Health 4.0

      Mukadder İnci Başer Kolcu, Giray Kolcu

      Abstract

      The goal of Industry 4.0 is to strengthen the manufacturing sector by utilizing digitalization. Health 4.0 is a term used to describe the digital change occurring in the sector of health in parallel with Industry 4.0. Smart health, mobile health and mobile health applications, wireless health, e-health, online health, telehealth or telemedicine, digital medicine, health informatics, medical information technology, pervasive health, and health information systems and applications are all discussed within the context of Health 4.0. The goal of Health 4.0 is to provide improved, value-added, and cost-effective healthcare to patients while also improving the healthcare industry’s efficiency and productivity. “Natural language processing, deep learning, and virtual reality” have been recognized as three critical technologies for Health 4.0 which have the potential to produce applications that will have a significant influence on healthcare services. Despite the numerous studies on the quality of health care and service provision, it is difficult to clearly reveal the quality due to intangibility, heterogeneity, and simultaneity in health services and health care. Consequently, using the Industry 4.0 strategy, Health 4.0 is a remarkable approach with a lot of promise to improve the quality of health services and health care. Health 4.0 has the ability to assist in the transition of the health sector from a reactive and cost-per-service-centered system to a value-based one that monitors outcomes and supports proactive prevention, according to the article. Novel designs and researches that have completed the PUKO cycle, have a widespread effect, and have an influence on large populations and data sets can be recommended in Health 4.0 integration. With these designs and researches, Health 4.0 will improve and become an actuality.

   3. Chapter 10. Healthcare 4.0 and Decision-Making Techniques in the Health Industry: A Systematic Literature Review

      Hande Küçükönder, Ömer Faruk Görçün

      Abstract

      The current study examines the state-of-the-art literature on using MCDM frames to solve various evaluation problems faced in the health industry. As is known, the health industry has a highly complicated and dynamic structure. Moreover, the requirement to use advanced technology in almost all phases of the treatment process makes it challenging to handle these assessment problems faced in the healthcare industry. Also, these requirements make evaluation and selection processes more complicated for practitioners, as they produce many complicated uncertainties aside from existing ambiguities. Therefore, the health industry is one of the promising fields of application for scholars dealing with decision-making approaches and proposing a new methodology. The authors applied a systematic literature review approach to determine the gaps and key research themes and synthesize the findings. The study concludes with recommendations about the research framework to help the authors carry out future works on this issue.

   4. Chapter 11. New Dimensions in Health Medical Material Transportation

      İsmail İyigün

      Abstract

      The transportation of medical materials is a critical issue in terms of the development of the health sector and the quality of the services it provides. Today, the transportation of medical products to various regions of the world or end users within a country's borders is becoming increasingly important. In this context, it is seen that new solutions have been put forward in the transportation of medical products with the emerging needs and developing technology. In this context, both the logistics and medical product sectors and scientists are trying to develop new solutions in this field. This study aims to examine the new solutions introduced in the transportation of medical products. A literature study and academic studies in this field were examined in this context. As a result of the study, it has been observed that drones provide advantages with a short response time compared to other vehicles, especially in last kilometer deliveries. In addition, it has been observed that drones successfully deliver medical products to points where access is difficult.

   5. Chapter 12. Health Tourism Components and Intermediary Institutions as Supplier Businesses in the Context of Health 4.0

      Gülüm Burcu Dalkıran

      Abstract

      The desire to be healthy, which is among the reasons that lead people to tourism, has turned into a large sector in which many people and institutions operate. In this sector called health tourism, intermediary organizations that can act on behalf of service recipients by directing them and providing service logistics play an important role. The destinations that can be determined in the alternatives offered by intermediary organizations while conducting research on behalf of the patient can be in the form of getting a better quality health service at a cheaper price, as well as depending on the technology in health services. The concept of Health 4.0, which is the use of next-generation technologies in healthcare services, is used in a wide range of areas from artificial intelligence to big data analytics; from Internet of Things technology to augmented reality. In countries that adapt to technological innovations, health infrastructure attracts a large number of tourists to the destination and creates a great source of income. Unlike other types of travel, health travel between countries may involve some special conditions. Although these conditions vary according to the components in the health tourism market, they can be effective in all decision processes since human health is in question. Intermediary organizations, which can operate in every market of health tourism, provide sectoral logistics as the first gateway to patients, especially in medical tourism.

   6. Chapter 13. Healthcare Logistics and Digital Transformation

      Sema Kayapınar Kaya

      Abstract

      Due to the complex and diverse structure of the healthcare industry, the healthcare industry's logistics practices have lagged far behind sectors such as retail and manufacturing. Therefore, in today's increasingly competitive and risky environment, it is critical for hospitals to improve their logistics management performance, increase the efficiency of health services, and reduce costs. This chapter synthesizes the contributions of healthcare logistics, the impact of medical logistics on healthcare providers, types of healthcare logistics. Addition, this chapter enables us to capture the research challenges associated with the healthcare logistics process, pharma logistics and show how digitalization initiatives can address them.

6. Backmatter