Healthcare delivery network

The healthcare delivery network comprises two distinct supply chains service supply chain and material supply chain. Service supply chain includes healthcare services such as admissions, diagnosis, lab test, surgery, treatment, and recuperation. Material supply chain involves procurement, storage, and deployment of healthcare products - pharmaceuticals, sensors, wearable devices, test equipment, and communication devices. As shown in Fig. 10.2, the materials supply chain includes all the entities, except the employers and the service supply chain excludes drug manufacturers, device manufacturers, and retailers. 

It should be apparent that the external and internal drivers are predicated upon a specific set of capabilities in the healthcare delivery network. In Fig. 10.5, we show these capabilities for both the service and material supply chains, using the framework developed in Chap. 1. The cluster of capabilities, labeled demand management refers to external drivers, whereas the other four clusters labeled fund management , provider management , operations and supply chain , and E-healthcare , are relate to internal drivers. 

E-healthcare is the use of digital data in support of healthcare at local and remote sites, and it involves electronic transmission, storage, and retrieval. It uses information technology, wearable devices, and smart phones to provide critical support in the healthcare delivery network. 

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