| Health care begins with effective logistical support and when managed effectively, contributes to an enhanced capability that spans a broad spectrum of health care support. The purpose of this mixed method, practice-oriented case study was to explore definitions and understanding of collaborative communication strategies in the management of a health care supply chain. The population studied included a purposive sample of 214 (41%) out of 528 U.S. Army health care logisticians who participated in a survey to develop a common operational definition of collaborative communications in supply chain management. Five themes related to the study included synergy, teamwork, enhancements in supply chain management, the need to continue training throughout a career, and commonalities in views among junior and senior executives as elements of collaborative health care supply chain management practices. The conclusions extrapolated from the study suggested that impressions of collaborative supply chain management practices and processes do not change as one matures in a career. Collaborative supply chain management involves a synergistic work environment wherein multiple parties work together toward the enhancement of supply chain practices and processes. Through the conduct of the study, no relationship could be established between improved supply chain management practices and effective collaborative communication strategies (chi2nu = 3.995, p = .046). Likewise, no relationship could be established regarding shared understanding between senior and junior levels of leadership regarding effective collaborative communication and effective supply chain management (chi2nu = 5.53, p = .0187). |
