Selection and Assessment of Outsourcing Service Suppliers in Hospitals by Multi-criteria Decision Making and Balanced Scorecard Combined Model

Outsourcing has been considered by hospital managers as a model to reduce the financial burden and modify the financial system. The external suppliers must be qualified for the services they ought to provide to the hospitals. The use of the Balance Scorecard and the Analysis of Hierarchical Process can help assessing suppliers' capability to solve existing problems in the field.

This qualitative study was carried out from January to March 2018 in one of the teaching hospital in Tehran city, Iran. The following steps were taken for designing the intended model. First, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) aspects were adapted to the concept of the health supply chain using the Focus Group method with 10 hospital experts and suppliers. The criteria determined based on the previous studies, strategic objectives of the hospital and the opinions of 5 hospital experts through Delphi method. Then, the identified criteria were classified in four aspects of the BSC. Finally, the hierarchical model was presented in the form of an evaluation balanced scorecard.

The results of the study led to identification of 19 criteria in four aspects of the BSC. In financial section, 5 criteria were identified for internal processes and innovation aspects, and 4 criteria for customers’ aspect. In the next step, a four-level hierarchical model was designed for evaluating performance of the supplier. The first level was evaluation of supplier, the second level contained the BSC aspects, the third level was the determined criteria and, finally, the fourth level encompassed the suppliers’ affaires.

The combination of the supply chain concept and the BSC offers useful and effective criteria for evaluation of suppliers. A hierarchical model is an appropriate tool for evaluating suppliers.