An Exploration of Healthcare Inventory and Lean Management in Minimizing Medical Supply Waste in Healthcare Organizations

The purpose of this study was to understand how lean thinking and inventory management technology minimize expired medical supply waste in healthcare organizations. This study was guided by Toyota's theory of lean and Mintzberg's theory of management development to explain why the problem of medical supply waste exists. Government reports show that 50 million people in the United States are without health insurance, yet healthcare costs continue to rise. Other data show that high premiums paid for medical products become waste due to expiration and poor ordering systems. The United States spends double on healthcare when compared to other countries. Although processes and technology to manage medical supply expiration are available, waste still exists. This study was important to understand performance and financial implications to healthcare organizations. An exploratory case study design was employed that focused on a sample of 20 inventory management employees in a level 3 hospital to investigate the relationships among management oversight, lean thinking, and inventory management technology. A qualitative content analysis was used to analyze face-to-face interview data. Emergent themes from the interview data were triangulated with literature themes, including lean thinking, waste, and inventory management tools. The study results showed that the use of lean practices, management engagement, and adequate inventory management systems reduced medical supply waste. A recommendation from this study is to expand the analysis on lean management in other operations areas in addition to medical supply waste. Positive social change will be realized by informing healthcare organizations on methods to reduce medical supply waste, thus helping citizens not absorb costs associated with waste.