ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies some of the advances in technology that have either directly or indirectly resulted in a step change in the healthcare environment, as well as the availability or the capability to provide and deliver improved services. It considers what implications their choices have for the design and management of the supply chain. The chapter provides the historical review consists of devices used to enhance medical procedures, including prosthetics and replacements for body parts. Throughout history the development and application of technology has enabled progress in healthcare provision. Public health was revolutionised by the combination of flushing toilets and the development of efficient sewage systems in major UK towns, starting with that engineered in London by Joseph Bazalgette in the mid-nineteenth century. While flush toilets and sewage systems are now the rule in industrialised countries, they are still far from ubiquitous in the developing world.
