THE EFFECT OF AI-DRIVEN INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ON HEALTHCARE OUTCOMES AND SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE: A DATA-DRIVEN ANALYSIS
Authors:   Wichita State University, USA, Badhan Istiaque Ahmed , Neeroj Moohtasim Haque ,   Wichita State University, USA, Chowdhury Irfan ,   L.L.B. (Honours), L.L.M., M.Sc. (Ongoing), Wichita State University, Kansas, USA
Published: November 2024

There has been much focus toward increasing integration of AI in healthcare generally, with a specific focus on inventory management systems in particular. As more hospitals in the United States public and private side face increasing costs and concerns over cost and length of operation all systems supporting inventory must be made most efficient and AI system offers the US hospitals the opportunity to maintain accurate inventory and hence improve the quality of patient care. But the literature review presents a small number of studies that focus on the effects of these systems as the means to improve healthcare results and organization. In this study, it is proposed that improving inventory management by actioning artificial intelligence in healthcare organizations will result in enhanced patient care and improved inventory accuracy, cost reduction and supply chain efficiency in the United States of America’s healthcare institutions. A cross-sectional, quantitative survey was administrated to 200 healthcare personnel and supply chain managers from different healthcare organizations based on hospitals, clinics and specialty medical centers of the USA. Sample design: Participants were purposefully chosen, who had prior exposure to the AI-induced systems or are aware about workflow of such systems. Respondents’ data was gathered via an online questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS: descriptive analysis, chi-square test, one-way ANOVA, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis was used to establish the relationships of the study variables: AI systems, healthcare outcomes and supply chain performance. The results showed that the use of AI in inventory management systems enhances its accuracy in ordering order itself and overall patient care. Separate studies showed that where the management of a facility has deeper insight of the AI system then there will be more operations worked on to improve efficiency or cut costs. Adoption of these pathways among smaller providers including clinics and long-term care facilities was difficult, especially due to cost constraints. An analysis of the multiple regression equation showed that knowledge of AI improved the projection of potential healthcare outcome, creating greater worth and also increases the performance of supply chain. The outcomes of using AI based inventory management systems in the United States seem to have a lot of advantages that may help improve the efficacy of operations in the healthcare system. Issues such as funding and skills needed for implementation, especially in small healthcare organization, continue to slow the uptake of the technology. These existing problems may be solved if more focused investments in the development of comprehensive AI training or systematic solutions are given to enable the healthcare industry to reach the full potential of the application of artificial intelligence.