ABSTRACT

Without doubt, the healthcare sector has changed significantly during the last decades. A stronger necessitytodeliverhealthcareservicesinamoreefficientandeffectivewaytogetherwithagrowing needtoimprovethequalityofcarehasforcedmanyhealthcareorganizationstostartprojectsinthe areaofpatientlogistics,carepathways,informationsystems,andqualitymanagement(Mahmoudand Rice,1998;Stocketal.,2007).Itwillbeofnosurprise,therefore,thatinmanycountries,thehealthcare sectorundergoesradicalchangesonbothapolitical,institutional,andorganizationallevel.Moreover, numerousgovernmentalinitiativesaretakentostimulatehealthcareorganizationstoreducecostsand improvethedeliveryofhealthservices.ŸeDutchGovernment,forinstance,in2004introducedaqualityprogramentitled“Fasterbetter”aimingatmakingthehealthcaresectorsafer,moreefficient,and patientcentered.Followingthisprogram,morethan24Dutchhospitalsstartedprojectsintheareaof qualitymanagement,patientlogistics,andmaterialsmanagement.Allprojectsconcentratedonreducingcostsandcreatingamorecare-focusedorganizationbymeansofintegratedcarepathways,establishingastrongerintegrationbetweentheplanningsystemsbeingused,optimizinggoodsflowsfor medicinesandimprovinghospitallogisticsprocesses.Recentstudiesonthisprogramindicatethatthe organizationscanbenefitsignificantlyfromamoresystematicapproach(deVries,2007).Atthesame time,however,studiesalsoshow(TowillandChristopher,2005;SchnellerandSmelter,2006)thatthe developmentandimplementationofimprovementprogramsinthehealthcaresectorisfarfromsimple duetothecomplexnatureofthecaredeliveryprocessandthestronginterconnectednessbetweenthe management areas involved.