Aspetti concettuali ed operativi della logistica nelle aziende sanitarie: il caso del presidio ospedaliero di Forlì.

Healthcare delivery organizations are constantly in the middle of important systematic changes. However, most of the time, these changes are focused on the organizational structure of roles and responsibilities with no attention to organization’s processes and operations. These aspects actually greatly influence the quality and efficiency of the service delivery processes. Operations management, a commonplace in nearly all service industries, is lagging behind in the healthcare sector. The present work first analyses the specificities of managing operations in the healthcare arena and then describes a best practice: the Forlì Hospital. At Forlì, the Local Health Authority top management has carried out extensive changes in pharmaceutical logistics (Informatization Process and introduction of unit dose) and has revolutionized hospital patient flows. In this sense, Forlì experience shows that a better management of hospital operations and systematic changes in the way services are delivered bring efficiency gains and safety and quality improvements.