Introduction: Hospitals face challenges in the supply chain of medical consumables, such as supply delays, resource wastage, and process complexity. This study employs the Business Process Management (BPM) approach to improve and redesign the supply chain process of medical consumables at Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan.
Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional, and applied study was conducted at Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan in 2024. The BPM stages include process identification, analysis, and redesign. The required data was collected through direct observation of processes, review of relevant documentation, and the execution of 30 semi-structured interviews with supply chain process owners. The processes were modeled using Bizagi software. During the analysis phase of the current process map, existing challenges were identified by applying BPM principles, including bottleneck identification, workflow simplification, and the elimination of unnecessary movements. Finally, optimization proposals were developed to enhance efficiency and reduce waste, which, after approval by hospital officials, were prepared for implementation.
Results: For each category of medical consumables (hoteling, non-hoteling, programmable, prescription items), separate process maps were developed, and key bottlenecks were identified. To improve the processes, several solutions were proposed, including two-stage verification of received supplies, elimination of intermediary warehouses, automation of activities, utilization of integrated information systems, and the implementation of an inventory tracking system for the orthopedic warehouse. Ultimately, three processes were redesigned to incorporate the proposed modifications.
Conclusion: The supply chain of medical consumables in large hospitals faces challenges such as unnecessary movements, a lack of information system integration, and resource waste, leading to service delivery disruptions, process owner dissatisfaction, and increased costs. Implementing BPM enables the identification of bottlenecks and the redesign of workflow pathways, which can lead to enhanced efficiency, expedited procurement, increased transparency, and improved management of the hospital supply chain.