Abstract：
Over the past 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed enormous pressure on the health care industry. There has been an increase in demand and, at the same time, a shortage of supplies. This has shown that supply chain management in the health care industry cannot be taken for granted. Furthermore, the health care industry is also facing other major challenges, such as the current labor market shortage. In the literature, the Internet of Things (IoT) is highlighted as an effective tool to build a more resilient and efficient supply chain that can manage these challenges. Although using IoT in supply chain management has been extensively examined in other types of supply chains, its use in the health care supply chain has largely been overlooked. Given that the health care supply chain, compared to others, is more complex and is under growing pressure, a more in-depth understanding of the opportunities brought by IoT is necessary.
This study aims to address this research gap by identifying and ranking the drivers of and barriers to implementing IoT in the health care supply chain.
We conducted a 2-stage study. In the first, exploratory stage, a total of 12 semistructured interviews were conducted to identify drivers and barriers. In the second, confirmatory stage, a total of 26 health care supply chain professionals were asked in a survey to rank the drivers and barriers.
The results show that there are multiple financial, operational, strategy-related, and supply chain-related drivers for implementing IoT. Similarly, there are various financial, strategy-related, supply chain-related, technology-related, and user-related barriers. The findings also show that supply chain-related drivers (eg, increased transparency, traceability, and collaboration with suppliers) are the strongest drivers, while financial barriers (eg, high implementation costs and difficulties in building a business case) are the biggest barriers to overcome.
The findings of this study add to the limited literature regarding IoT in the health care supply chain by empirically identifying the most important drivers and barriers to IoT implementation. The ranking of drivers and barriers provides guidance for practitioners and health care provider leaders intending to implement IoT in the health care supply chain.
This study aims to address this research gap by identifying and ranking the drivers of and barriers to implementing IoT in the health care supply chain.
We conducted a 2-stage study. In the first, exploratory stage, a total of 12 semistructured interviews were conducted to identify drivers and barriers. In the second, confirmatory stage, a total of 26 health care supply chain professionals were asked in a survey to rank the drivers and barriers.
The results show that there are multiple financial, operational, strategy-related, and supply chain-related drivers for implementing IoT. Similarly, there are various financial, strategy-related, supply chain-related, technology-related, and user-related barriers. The findings also show that supply chain-related drivers (eg, increased transparency, traceability, and collaboration with suppliers) are the strongest drivers, while financial barriers (eg, high implementation costs and difficulties in building a business case) are the biggest barriers to overcome.
The findings of this study add to the limited literature regarding IoT in the health care supply chain by empirically identifying the most important drivers and barriers to IoT implementation. The ranking of drivers and barriers provides guidance for practitioners and health care provider leaders intending to implement IoT in the health care supply chain.
摘要：
背景：在过去的两年中，COVID-19大流行给医疗保健行业带来了巨大压力。需求有所增加,同时,供应短缺。这表明，医疗保健行业的供应链管理不能被视为理所当然。此外，医疗保健行业也面临着其他重大挑战，如当前劳动力市场短缺。在文学中,物联网（IoT）被强调为一种有效的工具，可以构建更有弹性和更高效的供应链，以应对这些挑战。尽管在供应链管理中使用物联网已经在其他类型的供应链中得到了广泛的研究，它在医疗保健供应链中的使用在很大程度上被忽视了。鉴于医疗保健供应链，与其他人相比,更复杂，压力越来越大，有必要更深入地了解物联网带来的机遇。
目的：本研究旨在通过识别和排名在医疗保健供应链中实施物联网的驱动因素和障碍来解决这一研究差距。
方法：我们进行了2期研究。在第一,探索阶段,总共进行了12次半结构化访谈，以确定驾驶员和障碍。在第二个，确认阶段,在一项调查中，共有26名医疗保健供应链专业人员被要求对驱动因素和障碍进行排名。
结果：结果表明，存在多种财务，操作,与战略相关的，以及实施物联网的供应链相关驱动因素。同样，有各种各样的金融，与战略相关的，供应链相关，与技术相关的，和用户相关的障碍。研究结果还表明，与供应链相关的驱动因素(例如，提高透明度,可追溯性,以及与供应商的合作)是最强的驱动力，而财务障碍(例如，高的实施成本和构建商业案例的困难)是需要克服的最大障碍。
结论：本研究的结果通过经验识别物联网实施的最重要驱动因素和障碍，增加了有关医疗保健供应链中物联网的有限文献。驱动因素和障碍的排名为打算在医疗保健供应链中实施物联网的从业者和医疗保健提供者领导者提供了指导。
目的：本研究旨在通过识别和排名在医疗保健供应链中实施物联网的驱动因素和障碍来解决这一研究差距。
方法：我们进行了2期研究。在第一,探索阶段,总共进行了12次半结构化访谈，以确定驾驶员和障碍。在第二个，确认阶段,在一项调查中，共有26名医疗保健供应链专业人员被要求对驱动因素和障碍进行排名。
结果：结果表明，存在多种财务，操作,与战略相关的，以及实施物联网的供应链相关驱动因素。同样，有各种各样的金融，与战略相关的，供应链相关，与技术相关的，和用户相关的障碍。研究结果还表明，与供应链相关的驱动因素(例如，提高透明度,可追溯性,以及与供应商的合作)是最强的驱动力，而财务障碍(例如，高的实施成本和构建商业案例的困难)是需要克服的最大障碍。
结论：本研究的结果通过经验识别物联网实施的最重要驱动因素和障碍，增加了有关医疗保健供应链中物联网的有限文献。驱动因素和障碍的排名为打算在医疗保健供应链中实施物联网的从业者和医疗保健提供者领导者提供了指导。
