Sharon J. Williams – författare

Creating a well-integrated, resilient, and highly transparent supply chain is central to effective and safe patient care. But managing healthcare supply chains is complex; common challenges include the underuse, overuse, and misuse of health resources. This Element introduces the key principles and definitions of healthcare supply chains. Practical insights into the design and operation of healthcare supply chains are provided. Core characteristics of effective supply chain management such as performance management, systems thinking, and supply chain integration are examined along with the application of specific supply chain design and improvement approaches. Finally, the Element proposes areas that require further development both in research and practice. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

Lean is one of the most widely used improvement approaches in healthcare. With origins in manufacturing, it focuses on improving efficiency, eliminating waste, and streamlining processes. This Element provides an overview of the evidence for the use of Lean in healthcare, summarises the supporting tools and techniques, and emphasises the importance of developing an organisational culture committed to continuous improvement. The authors offer two case studies of attempts to implement Lean at scale, noting that, despite its popularity, implementation is not straightforward. Challenges include terminology that isn't always easy to grasp, perceived dissonances between the manufacturing origins of Lean based on repetitive, standardised, automated production and the human-centred world of healthcare, and problems with fidelity. The authors make the case that there is a lack of a robust evidence base for Lean and call for well-designed studies to advance the implementation of Lean and associated process improvement techniques in healthcare. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

Building on co-author Sharon Williams’ previous title Improving Healthcare Operations, this book examines the role of co-design and coproduction in health and social care. Extending current thinking on coproduction in healthcare and how this can be operationalised, this book opens a discussion around how it can contribute to improvement. Providing a number of case studies, it links previous public service management, operations management and supply chain management research by extending and translating these core design and improvement principles into health and social care. Considering the wider role of patients, communities and other stakeholders it will challenge and develop existing thinking in relation to co-design, coproduction and redesign of services.

Building on co-author Sharon Williams’ previous title Improving Healthcare Operations, this book examines the role of co-design and coproduction in health and social care. Extending current thinking on coproduction in healthcare and how this can be operationalised, this book opens a discussion around how it can contribute to improvement. Providing a number of case studies, it links previous public service management, operations management and supply chain management research by extending and translating these core design and improvement principles into health and social care. Considering the wider role of patients, communities and other stakeholders it will challenge and develop existing thinking in relation to co-design, coproduction and redesign of services.

Building on co-author Sharon Williams’ previous title Improving Healthcare Operations, this book examines the role of co-design and coproduction in health and social care. Extending current thinking on coproduction in healthcare and how this can be operationalised, this book opens a discussion around how it can contribute to improvement. Providing a number of case studies, it links previous public service management, operations management and supply chain management research by extending and translating these core design and improvement principles into health and social care. Considering the wider role of patients, communities and other stakeholders it will challenge and develop existing thinking in relation to co-design, coproduction and redesign of services.

This book examines the design of two care pathways to establish how key principles associated with systems thinking, quality improvement, and supply chain management can improve the design of these services. ‘Lean’ has typically been the prominent approach when improving the design of healthcare systems and is often selected by healthcare professionals to standardize and improve the delivery of care. Previous literature shows there has been varying success in the application of ‘Lean’, the author presents a study which examines the benefits of introducing ‘Agile’ as an alternative and complementary approach. Improving Healthcare Operations explores when ‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ are most applicable, and instances where a hybrid approach can be employed. Including empirical qualitative data collected from two care pathways, it intends to provide organizations with an alternative in order to produce the level and quality of care that is expected by patients.