Performance evaluation of public healthcare supply chain management: a critical literature review

Abstract

Performance evaluation tools have been vastly used in many areas of healthcare, and supply chains in specific. However, the adoption of performance appraisal in the public sector has lagged. The present study sought to explore current literature and highlight the state of the art of performance evaluation in public healthcare supply chain management. A structured and systematic literature review method was used to identify research papers covering the study theme. Through the resulting bibliographic portfolio of 13 relevant papers, we examined the application of performance evaluation methods employed to measure the overall performance of supply chain management in public healthcare and highlight the key indicators and focus of the studies. Most studies focused on operational efficiency indicators, material management efficiency, and financial performance. The small number of studies identified in this review raises the question of whether the sub-field is mature enough to warrant a literature review.