Assessment and prioritization of Healthcare 4.0 implementation in hospitals using Quality Function Deployment

Abstract

This study proposes a problem-oriented methodology, using the algebraic operations proposed in the Quality Function Deployment’s house-of-quality, to prioritize the integration of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies in hospitals, allowing us to account for both the importance of healthcare value chain problems and the current level of adoption of I4.0 technologies. The proposed method combines different techniques that aimed at assessing the maturity of organizations regarding specific issues and indicating improvement opportunities. Our propositions are illustrated through two case studies carried out in a large Brazilian public hospital and in a private hospital in India, allowing a comparative analysis in which we identify similarities and divergences in improvement priorities in each institution. Findings indicate that the proposed method supports the systemic integration of I4.0 technologies into healthcare organizations regardless hospital ownership, as digital applications are ranked according to their potential to solve the problems prioritized by managers from both case studies. Digital integration in healthcare organizations has been restricted to specific sectors, departments, treatment or processes. Due to high complexity of hospitals, most of these initiatives have fallen short on results, frustrating managers’ efforts. Thus, our method provides hospitals’ managers, authorities, and governments guidelines to prioritize the digitization of healthcare organizations.