Reverse exchange of healthcare devices: the case of hearing aid equipment in the UK

Abstract

Reverse exchange (RE) in dealing with the return, recycle and reuse of products is receiving a growing focus. When properly handled, RE in healthcare can deliver an economic benefit of cost minimisation and has extensive positive impacts on both human health and the environment (Li and Olorunniwo 2008) but to date, RE research is mostly limited to pharmaceutical return. This paper investigates the potential for RE benefits in the UK National Health Service (NHS) supply chain for medical devices. Hearing aids supplied to adults with hearing loss are used as an illustrative example. This research applied a consensus approach through the use of dispersed nominal groups in order to obtain qualitative data on information, barriers, solutions and priorities to support findings. Findings illustrate that the end user behaviour of returning the device, and the requirement by NHS Procurement for manufacturers to meet RE targets are secondary to the importance of audiology departments who have the autonomy to design RE processes and successfully implement initiatives. A schematic highlighting the information and materials flow of the supply chain and the barriers and facilitators to RE is presented for hearing aid devices with potential for transferability to other small medical device supply chains.

Keywords:

• Healthcare
• reverse exchange
• dispersed nominal groups

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Researcher Development Programme Fund offered by the University of Surrey and the International Centre for Management and Governance Research (ICMGR) ‘Summer Scholars Programme’ at Edinburgh Napier University, both of which funded travel grants for the authors, thus supporting this collaborative project across institutions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest has been reported by the authors.

Notes

1 WHO (2017) define an international dollar as that which would buy in any cited country a comparable amount of goods and services a U.S. dollar would buy in the United States.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rosanna Cole

Rosanna Cole is a Lecturer in Sustainable Supply Chain Management at Surrey Business School, Guildford (previously at the University of Roehampton and Deloitte LLP). She investigates social sustainability challenges of large organisations such as supplier selection, provenance of retails goods and modern slavery in supply networks. She is interested in operationalising sustainability in the supply chain using benchmarking criteria, production methods including reverse flow, logistics strategies and policy development.

Claire Frances Lindsay

Claire Lindsay is a Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management at Edinburgh Napier University Business School, Edinburgh. Her PhD on Lean Healthcare was awarded in 2016. Her work has an empirical focus that influences policy and practice and her research areas include improvement and coordination of healthcare, legal and humanitarian operations. Prior to entering academia, Claire held a variety of FMGC supply chain and operational roles for British Bakeries and Premier Foods.

Fiona Barker

Fiona Barker is a healthcare scientist at Windsor Audiologist Centre. Her PhD in Clinical and Experimental Medicine was awarded by the University of Surrey in 2016. Fiona is interested in the factors that impact on health behaviour on the part of the clinician, patient and wider healthcare system. As a clinician, Fiona worked as an audiologist in the NHS for 15 years. She now works for a private consortium of ENT consultants. She is the CEO of Vestibular Health Limited, which provides training and support to fitness professionals in inner ear balance health.