Application of Lean Practices in the Sri Lankan Private Hospital Sector

Abstract

This paper investigates the availability and application of lean practices in the supply chain function of the private hospital sector in Sri Lanka in order to identify the overall improvement, such as the reduction in medicinal errors, care coordination between departments, and reduction in medication administration errors that can be accomplished through lean practices in the country's private hospital supply chain process. Lean supply chain practices have been shown to be effective in terms of improving the quality of performance, such as patient satisfaction and lack of medication errors in the medical supply chain, but they are challenging to practically implement in the private medical sector in Sri Lanka in order to have an impact. Although studies have been conducted to identify the application and impact of lean practices in the private medical supply chain, there is a lack of research that has been conducted in the Sri Lankan context to gain an in-depth understanding of the current lean applications implemented in the country and their impact on the improvement of supply chain functions in the private medical sector. This research used a qualitative approach to study some of the major private hospitals in Sri Lanka, in-depth interviews with supply chain professionals of the private medical sector in Sri Lanka were conducted and the conclusions were reached after analyzing the data gathered through interviews by thematic analysis. In conclusion, there are four key lean practices implemented in the private medical sector in Sri Lanka, which have a significant impact on the overall performance of the country's private healthcare supply chain.