Health Care Manage Rev. 2021;46(4):358-366. doi: 10.1097/HMR.0000000000000278.
As the second largest expense category after labor, supply expense has received more strategic attention in recent years. Collaborative buyer-supplier relationships play a significant role in strategic supply chain management. In the health sector, however, buyer-supplier relationships are generally perceived as adversarial and distrusting.
The aim of this study was to investigate the major buyer-supplier relationship barriers, with an emphasis on the role of the physician as a surrogate buyer in the hospital's procurement process.
Semistructured interviews were conducted with informants from six health systems and five medical device manufacturers in the United States. Additional data were gathered through a focus group consisting of 10 senior-level physicians. A structured qualitative analysis identified important themes in buyer-supplier relationship factors.
From the data, four major themes emerged regarding the barriers to collaborative buyer-supplier relationships: lack of information sharing, opportunistic pricing behavior, changing regulations, and physician-supplier alliances. Further investigation regarding the role of the physician in purchasing reveals triadic implications.
The medical device market continues to exhibit strained buyer-supplier relationships. The physician's professional role in supply selection can undermine the hospital's strategic supply management efforts.
Both buyers and suppliers need to exhibit more information transparency in order to develop collaborative relationships with at least a small number of strategic partners. Supply chain executives at hospitals need to play a more active role in facilitating the link between the hospital's physicians and suppliers. Alternatively, hospitals can provide physicians with substitute services to curb supplier influences on physician preferences.
作为仅次于劳动力的第二大支出类别，供应成本近年来受到了更多的战略关注。协作的买卖双方关系在战略供应链管理中起着重要作用。然而，在医疗保健领域，买卖双方关系通常被视为敌对和不信任的。
本研究旨在调查主要的买卖方关系障碍，重点关注医生作为医院采购过程中代理买家的作用。
对来自美国六个医疗系统和五家医疗器械制造商的信息提供者进行了半结构化访谈。通过由 10 名高级医生组成的焦点小组收集了额外的数据。结构化的定性分析确定了买卖方关系因素中的重要主题。
从数据中，出现了四个关于协作买卖方关系障碍的主要主题：缺乏信息共享、机会主义定价行为、不断变化的法规和医生-供应商联盟。进一步调查医生在采购中的作用揭示了三方影响。
医疗器械市场继续表现出紧张的买卖方关系。医生在供应选择中的专业角色可能会破坏医院的战略供应管理努力。
买卖双方都需要表现出更多的信息透明度，以便与至少少数战略伙伴建立协作关系。医院的供应链管理人员需要在促进医院医生和供应商之间的联系方面发挥更积极的作用。或者，医院可以为医生提供替代服务，以遏制供应商对医生偏好的影响。
