Claudia R. Rosales

We synthesize the literature at the intersection of healthcare and data analytics and examine the use of data analytics methods to improve responsiveness, resilience, and restoration capabilities of healthcare systems when dealing with pandemic/epidemic outbreaks. We develop a conceptual framework to help us organize, analyze, and identify gaps in current research. Analysis of the literature helps us conclude that most of the work in the field supports healthcare institutions improve in terms of responsiveness and resilience, but more focus is needed to help systems restore to normalcy. We identify research gaps such as the development of robust disease surveillance tools based on novel technologies like AI, evaluating the benefits of coordinating limited resources within regional healthcare systems, and reducing risk within the complex healthcare supply chain. Moreover, based on our findings and interactions with practitioners we identify the need to channel more efforts on developing research that supports healthcare institutions as they seek to return to normalcy in the post-pandemic world. Health systems are now operating with fewer resources while dealing with an increased number of patients who present multiple comorbidities, while dealing with ongoing shortages of critical supplies. These challenging conditions have resulted in significant financial losses for several healthcare systems postpandemic. We propose future research directions that can provide a research agenda to scholars in our field seeking to enhance the responsiveness, resilience, and restoration of healthcare systems in preparation for future disease outbreaks.

We study different contract mechanisms between a vaccine manufacturer (VM) and a vaccine procurement agency (VPA) to coordinate the two‐peak influenza vaccine supply chain. Motivated by the prevalent industry contracts, we study two hybrid contracts under budget constraints, which allow flexibility in deciding the contractual parameters between the VM and the VPA. We consider the case of both private (for‐profit) and public (not‐for‐profit) VPA and the impact of different objectives, such as profit and vaccine coverage, on contract choice. We show that for public VPAs or for private VPAs with low available budget, both hybrid contracts are equally preferred by VM and VPA. However, under high budget, the preferences of VPA and VM will differ. We then extend our models to consider the case of both private and public VPA coexisting in the market under both budget and vaccine availability constraints. Contrary to intuition, we find that the vaccine coverage provided by the public VPA is not always higher than the vaccine coverage provided by the private VPA, with the private VPA providing greater vaccine coverage under conditions of low budget and low vaccine availability. Our findings have important policy implications for governments of emerging economies with limited budget for mass vaccination programs.

The cost of medical supplies represents a significant portion of hospital spending. Hospitals manage different types of medical supplies, such as general medical supplies and physician preference items. General medical supplies tend to be numerous and relatively low cost, while physician preference items tend to be less numerous and more expensive. Strong physician preference for certain medical supplies can limit the options available to reduce inventory costs. The use of consignment inventory is one way in which hospitals seek to reduce inventory costs for both general supplies as well as physician preference items. However, the use of consignment reduces the level of oversight that hospitals have on consigned inventories, thereby potentially increasing the likelihood of shrinkage. The impact of consignment on shrinkage cost has received limited attention. We investigate this issue by drawing upon the precepts of agency theory and by analyzing hospital data that span multiple years. Our results suggest that the use of consignment increases shrinkage and spend. We develop empirically informed analytical models to better understand the impact of an unforeseen increase in shrinkage on the cost associated with general and physician preference items. The analytical investigation suggests that the impact on general and physician preference items differ depending on the type of consignment contract negotiated between a hospital and a vendor. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of our findings.

This ethnographic study of more than 90 surgeries (referred to as episodes of care) identifies the antecedents to operating room (OR) supply waste. The study specifically considers the role of planning instances and communication patterns among members of the surgery team on supply waste within the OR. We operationalize planning instances in terms of the number of changes to the physician preference card (PPC), the key document that is used to plan items needed for surgery. Communication patterns among members of the surgery team are captured by measuring the density of communication among the OR team members during an episode of care. The unplanned costs during an episode of care are used as a measure of OR supply waste. Hundreds of hours were spent observing episodes of care and tracking supplies. A combination of participant‐observation, survey, and secondary data were analyzed to extract theoretical and practical insights. The results show that planning instances have a curvilinear relationship with unplanned costs. In particular, as the number of changes to the PPC increases, unplanned costs first increase and then decrease. Higher density of the OR team's communication network is associated with lower unplanned costs. This study has significant theoretical and managerial implications that we discuss and offer directions for future research.

Product availability is a critical aspect of customer service for retailers and manufacturers. When product is out of stock (OOS), both retailers and manufacturers may suffer depending on the demand-side characteristics, such as whether consumers are more loyal to the store or the brand. While both retailers and manufacturers contribute to OOS situations, the supply-side characteristics, such as whether the retailer or manufacturer is responsible for in-store fulfillment [i.e., traditional versus direct store delivery (DSD) distribution], may impact OOS performance. DSD involves the manufacturer bypassing the retailer's distribution center and delivering product directly to the retailer's individual stores. This paper considers demand- and supply-side issues simultaneously to determine the implications of stockouts for both retailers and manufacturers using an agent-based simulation. An agent-based simulation allows for consideration of these issues under repeated OOS situations to determine the overall impact to retailer and manufacturer performance.