Material Distribution and Transportation in a Norwegian Hospital:A Case Study

Automated Guided Vehicles have shown significant importance in material transportation and distribution in today’s hospitals. The increasing trends of shorter hospital stays and increase of treatments and surgeries in clinics, present new challenges for the supply of goods. The rise in patients in hospitals, and consequently the increase of treatments and surgeries, cause a growth of material usage and goods movement. This study used the Control Model methodology to analyze the material and information flow within the case hospital. Information sharing and integration is still a major issue in the case hospital. The study aims to stimulate further research in material handling and distribution in hospitals

Possibilities and Benefits of Using Material Flow Information to Improve the Internal Hospital Supply Chain

The concept of Supply Chain Management has become increasingly important in healthcare and notably in hospitals. Information along the supply chain is the key element for analysis and improvement purposes. The aim of the study is to analyze and visualize the material flow at a Norwegian hospital to identify the possibilities and benefits in current and future planning and operation. The integration of IT enables combining material and information flow. Statically analyses of the material flow can support in planning and control of the logistics activities. The visualization of the material flow can support to take long-term decisions e.g. for distributing departments at the hospital

Medical Supplies to the Point-Of-Use in Hospitals

In order to match financial sustainability with the delivery of high-quality healthcare hospitals need to seek efficient ways of managing inventories with a large variety of medical supplies. To find a balance in the trade-off between cost and service levels that ensures on time and high-quality patient treatment is a challenge. It is especially crucial in the hospital setting, where the consequence of a stock-out can be much more severe than lost revenue. The process of ensuring that the required supplies are available at the right time is a particularly important supporting role within hospital logistics. The scope of this study is inventory control at the point-of-use inventories in hospitals. It concerns the short-term planning and control area, which focus on coping with actual demand and making necessary changes in order to match efficiently to plans. This study aims to model the inventory control process and discuss how technology can support high availability of medical supplies in hospitals

Material Distribution and Transportation in a Norwegian Hospital: A Case Study

Automated Guided Vehicles have shown significant importance in material transportation and distribution in today’s hospitals. The increasing trends of shorter hospital stays and increase of treatments and surgeries in clinics, present new challenges for the supply of goods. The rise in patients in hospitals, and consequently the increase of treatments and surgeries, cause a growth of material usage and goods movement. This study used the Control Model methodology to analyze the material and information flow within the case hospital. Information sharing and integration is still a major issue in the case hospital. The study aims to stimulate further research in material handling and distribution in hospitals