Journal of Health Organization and Management最新文献

{"title":"Strategic value orientation in healthcare: measurement scale.","authors":"Atílio Peixoto Soares Júnior, Emerson Wagner Mainardes","doi":"10.1108/JHOM-07-2025-0391","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-07-2025-0391","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study aims to develop and validate the VOUSH (value orientation for users and society in healthcare) measurement scale, with a view to measuring how healthcare organizations offer value in an integrated way to both users and society. The theoretical framework combined approaches from experiential marketing and health - the foundations of VOUSH - taking into consideration business management, care management, value co-creation, digital technologies, user experience, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and value in healthcare.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>The methodology included two quantitative studies. The first, which was exploratory in nature, involved 213 users and health professionals, with a questionnaire and exploratory factor analysis being applied to identify dimensions of VOUSH. The second, confirmatory study included 169 managers (decision-makers) and used structural equation modeling for validation.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>The scale revealed three dimensions of VOUSH, namely user experience in healthcare, CSR in healthcare, and digital healthcare, with the results reinforcing the importance of these dimensions in aligning organizational practices with social and individual demands in healthcare.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>The scale is useful for assessing the degree of strategic maturity of healthcare organizations in offering shared value, which is a construct with high practical potential for the strategic marketing management of healthcare organizations.</p>","PeriodicalId":47447,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Organization and Management","volume":" ","pages":"1-41"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147822175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Why employees withhold knowledge: the role of job demands, unfairness perceptions and knowledge power threat in a healthcare setting.","authors":"Fathyia Almarzoqee, Shaker Bani-Melhem, Safeya Almazrouei, Faridahwati Mohd-Shamsudin, Muhammad Usman, Mohamed Aboelmaged","doi":"10.1108/JHOM-03-2025-0161","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-03-2025-0161","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>While job demands are commonly linked to burnout and disengagement, their influence on knowledge withholding remains underexplored, particularly in high-stakes healthcare settings where knowledge sharing is critical. Specifically, existing frameworks explain general stress responses but do not account for knowledge-specific and strategic decisions, nor the cognitive mechanisms underlying such behaviour. This study investigates the psychological mechanisms and boundary conditions through which job demands lead to knowledge withholding.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study examines the mediating role of perceived reward-effort unfairness and the moderating role of knowledge power threat (KPT). Data were collected using a time-lagged design from 316 healthcare professionals across multiple organisations in the UAE. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesised relationships.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>The results indicate that job demands positively influence knowledge withholding through perceived unfairness in reward-effort balance. This suggests that employees cognitively interpret resource imbalances as unfair, which in turn shapes knowledge-related decisions. Moreover, the relationship is intensified by KPT, reflecting employees' anticipatory concerns about losing knowledge-based influence and professional value, leading to stronger knowledge withholding behaviour.</p><p><strong>Practical implications: </strong>The findings highlight the importance of managing workload, ensuring fair reward systems and fostering trust-based leadership to reduce knowledge withholding and promote knowledge-sharing behaviours in healthcare organisations.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>This study provides a more precise explanation of knowledge withholding by integrating resource-based, cognitive and power-related perspectives, with KPT introduced as a novel boundary condition.</p>","PeriodicalId":47447,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Organization and Management","volume":" ","pages":"1-24"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147785419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"When AI heals the healers: AI adoption and explainability drive service innovation and reduce emotional exhaustion.","authors":"Salim Khan, Syed Jamal Shah","doi":"10.1108/JHOM-06-2025-0337","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-06-2025-0337","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>With the growing integration of AI in healthcare, its capabilities, such as automation, predictive analytics, enhanced diagnostics, and increased efficiency, hold strong potential to reduce emotional exhaustion among healthcare workers. Drawing on the Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory, this study proposes that AI adoption in healthcare can alleviate healthcare workers' emotional exhaustion by enabling service innovation.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>To support our proposition, three-wave self-reported data were collected over six months from doctors working in technologically advanced hospitals across four provinces of Pakistan.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>The structural equation modeling (SEM) results revealed that AI adoption was negatively related to emotional exhaustion via service innovation. Findings also showed that this indirect relationship was stronger when the level of explainable AI was high than when it was low.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>The study significantly contributes to the literature by revealing that AI adoption can substantially alleviate emotional exhaustion, contrasting with previous research, which predominantly suggests that technology adoption heightens emotional exhaustion among healthcare workers.</p>","PeriodicalId":47447,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Organization and Management","volume":" ","pages":"1-19"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147785377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How fairness and emotional comfort drive workflow efficiency: a mediated-moderated model in healthcare settings.","authors":"Afiyanaz Aanikkattil Nazar, Niyaz Panakaje, Babitha Shali Lasrado, S M Riha Parvin","doi":"10.1108/JHOM-01-2026-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-01-2026-0002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Hospitals operate in demanding environments where not only clinical skills, but also emotional well-being and fairness influence daily performance. This study aims to analyze how perceived fairness and emotional comfort among hospital staff contribute to organizational workflow efficiency. It explores the emotional and psychological factors impacting day-to-day operations in healthcare settings, particularly in high-pressure environments.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>The study adopted a quantitative, cross-sectional approach. A structured survey questionnaire was administered; data were collected from 418 hospital staff members in coastal Karnataka using stratified random sampling. The survey measured emotional comfort, perceived fairness, organizational commitment, perceived work support, and workflow efficiency. Furthermore, the data were analyzed using SPSS 26 and SmartPLS by implementing descriptive analysis, measurement model assessment, and structural equation modeling.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>The findings revealed that both perceived fairness and emotional comfort positively impact workflow efficiency. Staff members with better emotional support and a fair work environment are more likely to display higher levels of coordination, role clarity, and timely task execution.</p><p><strong>Practical implications: </strong>The study assists hospital administrators in enhancing service quality and developing training programs for staff members to improve emotional support systems, ensure transparent decision making, and promote fair treatment. Creating a safe and equitable work environment directly boosts overall organizational performance by streamlining staff workflows.</p><p><strong>Social implications: </strong>From a social point of view, this study emphasizes the significance of a fair and inclusive workplace environment in hospital settings, which contributes to staff well-being, and results in improved patient care. By promoting fairness and emotional comfort, hospitals simultaneously support the broader societal goal of enhancing healthcare efficiency.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>This research adopts a unique approach, as it focuses on the mental and emotional well-being of hospital staff and their experiences, whereas the majority of studies on hospital workflow have emphasized infrastructure and technological advancement. This study provides a human-centered model for healthcare organizations.</p>","PeriodicalId":47447,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Organization and Management","volume":" ","pages":"1-24"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147730312","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Lean-DEA approach for continuous improvement in Brazilian public hospitals.","authors":"Samuel Martins Drei, Lidia Angulo-Meza","doi":"10.1108/JHOM-07-2024-0292","DOIUrl":"10.1108/JHOM-07-2024-0292","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Purpose: &lt;/strong&gt;Propose an integrated approach of Lean Healthcare (LH) with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), establishing best practices for waste reduction and process improvement along with hospital efficiency.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Design/methodology/approach: &lt;/strong&gt;The study proposes a two-stage approach integrating LH and DEA to enhance hospital efficiency. The first stage identifies efficient hospitals post-LH implementation and projects efficiency for inefficient ones using ideal projections. In the second stage, a new DEA model applies to established extreme-efficient hospital sets, guiding LH technique selection for continuous improvement. This approach is tested on six Brazilian public hospitals before and after LH application (HA and HD, respectively), offering strategic insights for decision-making. The inclusion of ideal DMUs adds a dynamic dimension, projecting future efficiency and guiding inefficient hospitals toward effective practices.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Findings: &lt;/strong&gt;The results confirmed the approach's effectiveness, providing performance metrics and strategic guidance for healthcare service enhancement. Utilizing non-oriented SBM-DEA in the first stage determined DMU efficiency, revealing both efficient and inefficient hospitals post-Lean implementation. The approach extended beyond efficiency assessment by proposing ideal DMUs for inefficient hospitals. This refinement allowed a comprehensive analysis, considering real DMUs and ideal projections, emphasizing the approach's holistic evaluative capability.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Research limitations/implications: &lt;/strong&gt;The main limitation of this study lies in the restricted set of hospitals analyzed. Since the sample consisted of a limited number of institutions, the selection of inputs and outputs used in the Lean-DEA model was constrained by the availability of data provided by these hospitals. As a result, some potentially relevant variables for evaluating efficiency and Lean practice adoption could not be included in the analysis, which may have affected the comprehensiveness of the results. Additionally, the use of ideal DMUs generated from a mathematical optimization process - without orientation to the specific context of healthcare - may lead to the suggestion of target values that are unrealistic or unattainable for actual hospitals.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Practical implications: &lt;/strong&gt;The findings of this research provide a decision-support tool in scenarios marked by budget constraints and high demand for services. The application of the Lean-DEA model makes it possible to identify underperforming units and determine which managerial practices can be incorporated based on internal benchmarks within the healthcare system. As a result, managers gain access to a more accurate, evidence-based approach to guide interventions and strategically allocate resources, enhancing the efficiency and quality of services delivered to the population.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Social implications: ","PeriodicalId":47447,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Organization and Management","volume":" ","pages":"481-505"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145001606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Managing stress among healthcare professionals: insights from the Snoezelen approach.","authors":"Pascal Martin, Kevin Sevag Kertechian","doi":"10.1108/JHOM-05-2025-0282","DOIUrl":"10.1108/JHOM-05-2025-0282","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Healthcare professionals working in medico-social institutions encounter significant physical and psychological challenges that can compromise their overall well-being. This study aims to investigate the impact of interventions based on the Snoezelen approach in mitigating psychosocial risks, particularly stress.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>A qualitative exploratory pilot study was employed, utilizing non-directive interviews with 66 healthcare professionals. The study aimed to gather in-depth insights into participants' subjective experiences and perceptions of Snoezelen-based interventions.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Participants reported that Snoezelen environments fostered relaxation, emotional regulation, and a sense of personal renewal. Key themes included the creation of a calming sensory atmosphere, facilitation of emotional release, reduction of inner tension and strengthened interpersonal connections. These experiences collectively contributed to improved stress management and workplace well-being.</p><p><strong>Research limitations/implications: </strong>As the data are based on self-reported experiences from a specific group, generalizability may be limited. Future research could investigate the long-term effects and broader applications across diverse healthcare contexts.</p><p><strong>Practical implications: </strong>The findings suggest that incorporating Snoezelen spaces or similar interventions into medico-social institutions could serve as a valuable strategy for reducing stress and providing professional support.</p><p><strong>Social implications: </strong>Enhancing the well-being of healthcare workers through sensory-based approaches can lead to improved service quality, benefiting both staff and users of medical and social institutions.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>This study offers original empirical data on the use of Snoezelen interventions among healthcare professionals, an area that has received limited attention. It contributes to the literature by emphasizing the value of sensory-based, non-directive approaches to promote professional well-being.</p>","PeriodicalId":47447,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Organization and Management","volume":" ","pages":"595-611"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145139076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Predicting CSR authenticity in healthcare organizations: an integrated SEM-IPMA-ANN approach through the lens of self-compassion theory.","authors":"A K S Suryavanshi, Sujo Thomas, Sanjit Singh, Ritesh Patel, Viral Bhatt, Sudhir Pandey","doi":"10.1108/JHOM-02-2025-0107","DOIUrl":"10.1108/JHOM-02-2025-0107","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>As healthcare business organizations face mounting pressure from civil society to act responsibly, they are expanding and strategically restructuring their CSR activities. Under the umbrella of CSR, cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns are a means of fundraising available to healthcare firms engaging in socially responsible activities to improve global health. While healthcare organizations increasingly emphasize CSR implementation, its precise nature within the context of CSR authenticity has not been systematically investigated. Adopting self-compassion theory as a platform, this study has demonstrated novel relationships for gaining deeper insights into the key predictors of CSR authenticity in healthcare organizations.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>The authors collected 882 responses and adopted the hybrid SEM-IPMA-ANN (Structural Equation modelling- Importance Performance Map Analysis- Artificial Neural Network) method to confirm the proposed model's significant predictors influencing CSR authenticity.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>The findings provide an extended knowledge of self-compassion theory, thus contributing to the extant literature on CSR domain and healthcare marketing. The ANN findings established that social connectedness was the strongest predictor of CSR authenticity, followed by trust in the CRM campaign, isolation, mindfulness, common humanity, self-kindness, over-identification, and self-judgement. The IPMA result, consistent with ANN findings, revealed that social connectedness and trust in CRM campaigns were of relatively higher importance when predicting CSR authenticity.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>The study contributes to our knowledge, and the findings would have implications for CSR practitioners in developing effective CRM campaigns for healthcare organizations. The conclusions would offer invaluable intelligence to CRM marketers, healthcare service practitioners, ad-campaign business professionals, and non-profit managers to manage critical and informed decisions.</p>","PeriodicalId":47447,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Organization and Management","volume":" ","pages":"543-566"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145151053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Implementing telemedicine for cancer care in European healthcare organizations: lessons from the eCAN Joint Action.","authors":"Tugce Schmitt, Katharina Habimana, Anita Gottlob, Claudia Habl, Magdalena Rosińska, Morten Sønderskov Frydensberg, Carsten Jensen, Victoria Leclercq, Marie Delnord, Marc Van den Bulcke","doi":"10.1108/JHOM-01-2025-0048","DOIUrl":"10.1108/JHOM-01-2025-0048","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Telemedicine represents a promising innovation to complement conventional cancer care in Europe to improve treatment quality and patient outcomes. Funded between September 2022 and December 2024, the Joint Action \"Strengthening eHealth including telemedicine and remote monitoring for health care systems for CANcer prevention and care\" (eCAN JA) aimed to bring the benefits of telemedicine to cancer patients across the European Union (EU) Member States, with 35 partner organizations from 16 countries and explored its feasibility through multicenter clinical trials. This study sheds light on key factors to implement telemedicine services for cancer care in European healthcare organizations (HCOs) and offers a forward-looking perspective by conducting a foresight exercise as part of the Sustainability Work Package (WP4) of the eCAN JA.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>Foresight is an umbrella term for innovative strategic planning, policy formulation and solution design methods that empower decision-makers. For our multi-country foresight study, we followed three sequential steps to gain qualitative and quantitative findings on the facilitators of telemedicine services for cancer patients in clinical settings, comprised of (1) literature review; (2) surveys to HCOs in different EU Member States and (3) a foresight workshop with survey respondents.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Telemedicine implementation in HCOs requires equipping healthcare professionals with the necessary skills, ensuring system compatibility and addressing resource constraints for hybrid care models for success. Future policies in the EU should focus on establishing telemedicine training for healthcare professionals and support interoperability as well as user-friendliness of telemedicine services in HCOs. Policies should also address clinical workload challenges, enable harmonized telemedicine protocols across Europe, provide incentives for implementation and invest in digital infrastructure in HCOs for a sustainable telemedicine adoption.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to conduct a foresight analysis on the feasibility of telemedicine for cancer care across different HCOs in EU Member States.</p>","PeriodicalId":47447,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Organization and Management","volume":" ","pages":"528-542"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145281404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Preparing for future supply disruptions: a roadmap from the healthcare procurement perspective.","authors":"Merle Tucholka, Carolina Belotti Pedroso, Klaas Stek","doi":"10.1108/JHOM-12-2024-0508","DOIUrl":"10.1108/JHOM-12-2024-0508","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic exposed critical vulnerabilities in healthcare systems, particularly in hospital procurement and preparedness for supply chain disruptions. This study aims to investigate how healthcare procurement professionals can develop sustainable preparedness plans for future supply disruptions.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>A case study approach was adopted in this research. Data collection was performed through 15 semi-structured interviews with purchasing experts in 11 German hospitals.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>The findings of this research led to the development of a roadmap to support preparedness planning, based on the best practices identified by hospital purchasing professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also identified six types of barriers affecting physical preparedness, intangible preparedness activities and both simultaneously. The best practices were categorised under six domains: storage, human resources, knowledge management, operations and process management, financial resources and community collaboration. The findings suggest that combining different types of preparedness activities is essential for developing preparedness plans.</p><p><strong>Practical implications: </strong>This research provides practical guidelines for hospital purchasing professionals to better prepare for future disruptions, such as a roadmap to improve preparedness.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>A healthcare procurement lens is applied in our study, exploring preparedness at the organisational level, a perspective that has been underexplored in literature. This study raises awareness of the lack of preparedness plans in hospitals from a procurement perspective. This research provides a roadmap based on best practices to strengthen hospitals' preparedness plans for possible future disruptions.</p>","PeriodicalId":47447,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Organization and Management","volume":" ","pages":"506-527"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145024438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving hospital surgical instrument picking processes: a case study of human resource allocation through Six Sigma DMADV framework.","authors":"Afrooz Moatari-Kazerouni, Dinesh R Pai, Benjamin J Igo","doi":"10.1108/JHOM-06-2024-0248","DOIUrl":"10.1108/JHOM-06-2024-0248","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Healthcare organizations constantly strive to reduce expenses, with human resources (HR) historically being a major cost. Efficient HR planning is crucial for effective staffing and the success of healthcare systems. This study investigates HR allocation for surgical instrument picking processes at a North American hospital. The hospital recently redesigned its surgical instrument inventory, picking processes and transportation methods, leading to new roles in the operating rooms (OR) and the central sterilization department (CSD).</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>We analyzed the redesigned processes using the Six Sigma DMADV Framework and measured their duration with the Maynard Operation Sequence Technique (MOST).</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Our systematic approach revealed an average of 51.25 daily surgeries and 70.25 case carts picked daily, with each case cart taking 19.64 min to prepare. Despite increased operational demands, the redesigned process improved efficiency by 7%. Through statistical analysis and stakeholder collaboration, we determined optimal HR allocation: five full-time employees for CSD and four full-time and one part-time employee for OR. This efficient resource utilization reduced wait times and improved the speed and quality of surgical care.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>This case study uniquely addresses HR allocation in hospital surgical instrument picking operations from a process improvement perspective.</p>","PeriodicalId":47447,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Organization and Management","volume":" ","pages":"409-434"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144805057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}