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This article summarizes exploratory research conducted on private and public hospital systems in Australia and Costa Rica analyzing the trends observed within supply chain procurement. Physician preferences and a general lack of available comparative effectiveness research—both of which are challenges unique to the health care industry—were found to be barriers

This article summarizes exploratory research conducted on private and public hospital systems in Australia and Costa Rica analyzing the trends observed within supply chain procurement. Physician preferences and a general lack of available comparative effectiveness research—both of which are challenges unique to the health care industry—were found to be barriers to effective supply chain performance in both systems. Among other insights, the ability of policy to catalyze improved procurement performance in public hospital systems was also was observed. The role of centralization was also found to be fundamental to the success of the systems examined, allowing hospitals to focus on strategic rather than operational decisions and conduct value-streaming activities to generate increased cost savings.
ContributorsBudgett, Alexander Jay (Author) / Schneller, Eugene (Thesis director) / Gopalakrishnan, Mohan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Objective: To assess and quantify the effect of state’s price transparency regulations (hereafter, PTR) on healthcare pricing.

Data Sources: I use the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project’s Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2000 to 2011. The NIS is a 20% sample of all inpatient claims. The Manhattan

Objective: To assess and quantify the effect of state’s price transparency regulations (hereafter, PTR) on healthcare pricing.

Data Sources: I use the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project’s Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2000 to 2011. The NIS is a 20% sample of all inpatient claims. The Manhattan Institute supplied data on the availability of health savings accounts in each state. State PTR implementation dates were gathered by Hans Christensen, Eric Floyd, and Mark Maffett of University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business by contacting the health department, hospital association, or website controller in each state.

Study Design: The NIS data was collapsed by procedure, hospital, and year providing averages for the dependent variable, Cost, and a host of covariates. Cost is a product of Total Charges within the NIS and the hospital’s Cost to Charge ratio. A new binary variable, PTR, was defined as ‘0’ if the year was strictly less than the disclosure website’s implementation date, ‘1’ for afterwards, and missing for the year of implementation. Then, using multivariate OLS regression with fixed effect modeling, the change in cost from before to after the year of implementation is estimated.

Principal Findings: The analysis estimates the effect of PTR to decrease the average cost per procedure by 7%. Specifications identify within state, within hospital, and within procedure variation, and reports that 78% of the cost decrease is due to within-hospital, within-procedure price discounts. An additional model includes the interaction of PTR with the prevalence of health savings accounts (hereafter, HSAs) and procedure electivity. The results show that PTR lowers costs by an additional 3 percent with each additional 10 percentage point increase in the availability of HSAs. In contrast, the cost reductions from PTR were much smaller for procedures more frequently coded as elective.

Conclusions: The study concludes price transparency regulations can lead to a decrease in a procedure’s costs on average, primarily through price discounts and slightly through lower cost procedures, but not due to patients moving to cheaper hospitals. This implies that hospitals are taking initiative and lowering prices as the competition’s prices become publically available suggesting that hospitals – not patients – are the biggest users of price transparency websites. Hospitals are also finding some ways to provide cheaper alternatives to more expensive procedures. State regulators should evaluate if a better metric other than charge prices, such as expected out-of-pocket payments, would evoke greater patient participation. Furthermore, states with higher prevalence of HSAs experience greater effects of PTR as expected since patients with HSAs have greater incentives to lower their costs. Patients should expect a shift towards plans that offer these types of savings accounts since they’ve shown to have a reduction of health costs on average per procedure in states with higher prevalence of HSAs.
ContributorsSabol, Joshua Lawrence (Author) / Reiser, Mark (Thesis director) / Ketcham, Jonathan (Committee member) / Dassanayake, Maduranga (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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My thesis combines two different perspectives. The first is supply chain management, and the second is volunteering. The inspiration for this topic came from Joy Field's seminar titled "Job Design and Work Allocation for Volunteers in Nonprofit Organizations." My thesis differs from her seminar because I decided to expand her

My thesis combines two different perspectives. The first is supply chain management, and the second is volunteering. The inspiration for this topic came from Joy Field's seminar titled "Job Design and Work Allocation for Volunteers in Nonprofit Organizations." My thesis differs from her seminar because I decided to expand her topic to include all types of organizations, not just non-profits. The idea of relating supply chain and volunteering is appealing because I believe getting the most out of each volunteer's experience and those on the receiving end is very important. Additionally, her seminar appealed to me because I have volunteered before and it relates to my major of supply chain management. Volunteer management relates to supply chain management from an operations perspective. A common objective within supply chain operations is maximizing productivity, resources, and value. Mismanaging people can lead to an increased amount of waste in the form of money, time, and resources. That is why it is important to get the most out of the entire experience in order for both the volunteers and the organization to achieve the most benefit. The purpose of this paper is to describe best practices in volunteer management for organizations to consider. I will explore three phases of the volunteer management process: before, during, and after. Additionally, I will provide a personal volunteer experience and assess its effectiveness. My source material consisted of various research articles and journals, and the end result will be an outline of recommendations for organizations to utilize when using volunteers.
ContributorsCohen, Joshua (Author) / Printezis, Antonios (Thesis director) / Sandell, Paul (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
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The purpose of this thesis is to gain a more nuanced understanding of what research is currently going on in the academic realm of supply chain management. This thesis is composed of two parts. The first part contains summaries and personal takeaways from four different supply chain management seminars that

The purpose of this thesis is to gain a more nuanced understanding of what research is currently going on in the academic realm of supply chain management. This thesis is composed of two parts. The first part contains summaries and personal takeaways from four different supply chain management seminars that were put on by professors who were visiting the ASU campus. These seminars include general topics such as RFID readability, supply chain cash conversion cycles, risk management within the healthcare supply chain, and building trust and trustworthiness in global business. The second part of the thesis will then use a literature review to expand upon the topic of risk management within the healthcare supply chain, and to explore how previous research ties into the current happenings of the industry, as well as its future implications.
ContributorsHemzacek, Noah (Author) / Printezis, Antonios (Thesis director) / Choi, Thomas (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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The healthcare industry is currently facing significant changes. One of the changes in the industry is a movement towards patient-focused care, which considers the patient as a person and the impact of care on the person. Patient experience is part of patient-focused care, and has similarities to the marketing term

The healthcare industry is currently facing significant changes. One of the changes in the industry is a movement towards patient-focused care, which considers the patient as a person and the impact of care on the person. Patient experience is part of patient-focused care, and has similarities to the marketing term customer experience, which contributes to happier customers and long-term financial growth and success for businesses. This thesis defines current issues in patient experience as it relates to hospital manager decision making. Through secondary research, this thesis demonstrates what patient experience is, the role it plays in healthcare and hospital settings, the pressures on hospitals to increase patient experience performance, how patient experience performance is measured, and what strategies or action drive improvements under current performance measurements. Many studies and articles exist examining each of these issues individually. However, these sources do not comprehensively define patient experience in hospitals with perspective on how this influences hospital strategy and decision-making. Previous works on patient experience from the perspective of hospital strategy do not include considerations for recent industry shifts, most notably the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The collected definitions in this thesis provide guidance of relevant concerns hospital managers consider when formulating organization-wide strategy related to patient experience. This thesis explains how patient experience contributes to the success of hospitals in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term and how patient experience may shift its focus over time. Short-term concerns include specific regulations and definitions from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, responsible for over half of all payments to hospitals. Conforming to CMS standards is a matter of survival for most hospitals in the short-term. Hospitals are adjusting to rules and payment models not in existence just two years ago. First, hospitals will adapt, and then hospitals will strive to optimize under new standards as well as respond to adjustments in the rules over the next several years. After patient experience standards are well established, certain aspects of patient experience will be part of long-term differentiation and success for hospitals. Responding comprehensively to the shift towards improving patient experience is a critical aspect for hospitals to weather the many changes in the healthcare industry. Patient experience will provide better care to patients and better financial health to the hospitals that perform above patient experience standards.
ContributorsWilton, Kara Alexandra (Author) / Ketcham, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Amy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Thesis Abstract: Cygnal The healthcare market plays a vital role in how our team worked with innovation space to design a product that fit user needs and could be a sustainable business. Whatever product we design is going to be dictated based off of how the insurance market will pay

Thesis Abstract: Cygnal The healthcare market plays a vital role in how our team worked with innovation space to design a product that fit user needs and could be a sustainable business. Whatever product we design is going to be dictated based off of how the insurance market will pay for it and how much we can charge for our product and services. In fact, the healthcare market is so incredibly unclear with outdated regulations that all of these fraud schemes and inflammatory prices are bound to happen. Stronger government involvement in this instance, I believe would help the issue. In reality, there are so many people taking advantage of the system that you cannot put the blame on anyone exploiting the system. What is clear though, is that they are taking advantage of a system that looks like it was set up to allow them to do so, and in that sense, Medicare is responsible for allowing this market to become warped. The healthcare industry played a vital role in our team for Innovation Space is completing our project. If we do not have a firm understanding on how the insurance market works, how much wheelchair companies are pricing chair components for, and how easily customers can see a financial benefit in switching to our product, it will not survive in the market place. That is why I as the business student am dedicating a lot of time in the final months of our project to make sure that our pricing is accurate, and feasible. The health insurance market, even if it is dysfunctional, will be ultimately paying for our product, and in business if you do not truly know your customer, you are bound to lose him. This paper uncovers why this market is warped and how to do business within it.
ContributorsMefford, Michael James (Author) / Peck, Sidnee (Thesis director) / Boradkar, Prasad (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Over the past two decades, the fashion industry has evolved to both create and respond to the consumer's demand for fast fashion, the industry of inexpensive clothing produced at high rates to respond to changing consumer trends. As fast fashion grew in popularity, the new standard of the industry

Over the past two decades, the fashion industry has evolved to both create and respond to the consumer's demand for fast fashion, the industry of inexpensive clothing produced at high rates to respond to changing consumer trends. As fast fashion grew in popularity, the new standard of the industry was to create and manufacture every other week, producing continual new trends for a market designed for continual consumption. As the garments being produced were made for short life-spans, textile waste began to grow and the fashion industry was named the second largest pollutant in the world next to oil. Coming out of a market saturated with clothing, a new trend focused around sustainability and reuse has emerged: the resale market. With increased awareness for sustainability, circular fashion business models have emerged from a more linear and disposable supply chain. By focusing on environmental, social, and financial aspects of a supply chain, otherwise known as the triple bottom line, we discuss how second-hand shopping should be managed to satisfy customer shopping expectations.
The creative project of this thesis showcases various wardrobes that have solely been purchased second-hand. The purpose of the creative presentation is to show that no matter one’s style preference, occupation, or age, second hand shopping can appeal to every type of customer. Second hand shopping is not only for “thrifty” millennials, it it for everyone, and can encompass anyone’s clothing needs.
ContributorsToomb, Sophia Mikaela (Author) / Sewell, Dennita (Thesis director) / Wiedmer, Robert (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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For the Supply Chain Management Alternative Thesis, I was required to attend 4 research seminars. After attending all four seminars, I wrote a summary for each one and then did my own research on a subject from one of the seminars. I selected the lecture from Mahyar Eftekhar to do

For the Supply Chain Management Alternative Thesis, I was required to attend 4 research seminars. After attending all four seminars, I wrote a summary for each one and then did my own research on a subject from one of the seminars. I selected the lecture from Mahyar Eftekhar to do more research on due to my passion of humanitarian work. The lecture delivered by Mahyar Eftekhar on September 27th, 2018 there was a question being asked, “How to improve service delivery, considering the peculiar characteristics of humanitarian supply chains?”. This question can either cost a company a lot of money or save it a lot of money. The problem is how do you reduce risk for a supply chain in humanitarian work? The objective of my research is to find different solutions on risk mitigation for humanitarian organizations and how to bring down costs for the supply chains that these organizations have. Risk mitigation can be difficult for events that happen randomly, but there are ways to help reduce risk. Reducing risk is key to humanitarian supply chains because it can save money for companies that have financial restrictions. Humanitarian supply chains are much different from typical supply chains, due to what is at stake. These supply chains cannot fail, because if they do lives will be put in danger. Disasters can happen at any moment and can range from all different types. Being prepared for the worst case scenario is important in humanitarian efforts in order to bring down costs and save lives.
ContributorsDominguez, Brady (Author) / Printezis, Antonios (Thesis director) / Oke, Adegoke (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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The purpose of this research was to identify various problems within value analysis teams as well as provide solutions that will help to better align the agents involved in the value analysis process. As healthcare costs continue to rise, and hospital reimbursements fall, value analysis teams will play an even

The purpose of this research was to identify various problems within value analysis teams as well as provide solutions that will help to better align the agents involved in the value analysis process. As healthcare costs continue to rise, and hospital reimbursements fall, value analysis teams will play an even more pivotal role in the success of healthcare organizations. Also, the industry trend toward value-based care is highlighting the importance of these teams. However, interdisciplinary value analysis teams bring to light the underlying agency issue that exists between physicians and hospital administrators, and the general misalignment of values between the participants. In order for these teams to function properly, it is inherent that all of the professionals involved align their incentives. For this study, I studied relevant literature pertaining to value analysis, attended relevant speakers, and then performed interviews with several different professionals involved in healthcare value analysis. I organized and coded this data using the Grounded Theory approach, and was able to identify the underlying issues within these teams. I then created a typology of value analysis teams, based on my respondents, where I segment them into four tiers based on their utilization of data, and their level of physician involvement. Finally, I identified three distinct strategies for developing value analysis teams to implement in order to increase their efficiency and overall success.
ContributorsLindgren, Thomas John (Author) / Schneller, Eugene (Thesis director) / Choi, Thomas (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
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Only an Executive Summary of the project is included.
The goal of this project is to develop a deeper understanding of how machine learning pertains to the business world and how business professionals can capitalize on its capabilities. It explores the end-to-end process of integrating a machine and the tradeoffs

Only an Executive Summary of the project is included.
The goal of this project is to develop a deeper understanding of how machine learning pertains to the business world and how business professionals can capitalize on its capabilities. It explores the end-to-end process of integrating a machine and the tradeoffs and obstacles to consider. This topic is extremely pertinent today as the advent of big data increases and the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence is expanding across industries and functional roles. The approach I took was to expand on a project I championed as a Microsoft intern where I facilitated the integration of a forecasting machine learning model firsthand into the business. I supplement my findings from the experience with research on machine learning as a disruptive technology. This paper will not delve into the technical aspects of coding a machine model, but rather provide a holistic overview of developing the model from a business perspective. My findings show that, while the advantages of machine learning are large and widespread, a lack of visibility and transparency into the algorithms behind machine learning, the necessity for large amounts of data, and the overall complexity of creating accurate models are all tradeoffs to consider when deciding whether or not machine learning is suitable for a certain objective. The results of this paper are important in order to increase the understanding of any business professional on the capabilities and obstacles of integrating machine learning into their business operations.
ContributorsVerma, Ria (Author) / Goegan, Brian (Thesis director) / Moore, James (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05