JIT in Healthcare: An Integrated Approach

Abstract

Cost, quality, patient satisfaction etc. are some important issues facing healthcare industry. Hospitals are
searching continuously for innovative ways to contain costs without sacrificing quality and meet the
patients’ needs. One successful solution has been the adoption of JIT manufacturing systems which involve
many functional areas of a company such as manufacturing, engineering, marketing, and purchasing. JIT
concepts have successfully been implemented in manufacturing organizations. There is a reasonable
consensus among researchers that JIT is a useful approach for reducing costs and improving quality and can
be applied to service environments also. This paper reviews the relevant literature and explores the
integration of JIT techniques and practices into health care services. Based on this, some research directions
are identified.
Keywords: JIT elements, Implementation, Service sector.