Study of Triadic Relationships in PUrchasing Orthopedic and Cardiac Implantable Medical Devices in the USA

Recent legislations mandate hospitals to increase the efficiency of their operations and to reduce the cost of their services while maintaining the quality of care. Purchasing orthopedic and cardiac Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) are among the top expenses of hospitals. Extant literature shows that the efficiency of hospitals in purchasing IMDs is low and needs significant improvement. However, this body of literature suffers from lack of studies that investigate the factors that lead to this poor performance. This paper reports the findings of an empirical study that looks into the root causes of this problem and proposes resolutions. Drawing on the theory of service triads, and based on the analysis of large scale dataset gathered at the national level in the United States, this paper puts forward several suggestions that serve as a guideline for hospital managers and clinicians who participate in the process of purchasing orthopedic and cardiac IMDs.