Critical Review and Analysis of Just in Time Elements in Health Care Sector: A Case Study

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.