Doing More with Less: A Client-Centred Approach to Healthcare Logistics in a Nursing Home Setting

Dutch nursing homes are currently confronted with two seemingly incompatible goals: a more client-centred approach and the necessity to reduce costs at the same time. It is becoming increasingly apparent that healthcare logistics can contribute to providing high-quality care and support at a reasonable cost. Moreover, care and support which takes the client’s preferences as starting point. A literature study revealed that there is very little in terms of a framework for healthcare logistics that embodies both aspects. Therefore, the authors developed a conceptual framework that meets both requirements. Existing insights on client-centredness and healthcare logistics were used to develop the framework, which offers a structure for both future research and practice in healthcare logistics in nursing home care. This paper reveals that further empirical research is needed to better understand how variability, volume and predictability are interrelated and how they influence the plannability of healthcare activities in terms of what, when, where and by whom.