Prioritization of Purchasing Criteria by Linear Best-Worst Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Method for Optimal Provision of Medical Supplies

Abstract

Introduction: One of the main challenges of the health system is improving the quality of healthcare services by adjusting the costs. The right choice of tools will bring economic savings besides excellent service quality. Since medical supplies are among the fundamental and costly elements in providing services, the expertise of purchasing has become an important and complex issue. This study aimed to prioritize criteria for purchasing medical supplies. Method: This research is an applied study conducted with a descriptive survey method. In this study, the criteria collected from related studies and completed with the opinion of experts were prioritized and weighted for four categories of medical supplies by the linear best-worst multi-criteria decision-making method using Lingo and Excel software. Results: By weighting sixteen sub-criteria of purchasing medical supplies in the form of five categories, the importance of each criterion was determined. According to the results, the two sub-criteria of "quality" and "price" were recognized as the most important and "seller's record" as the least important indicator in the purchase of medical supplies. Conclusion: Using the linear best-worst multi-criteria decision-making method with definite consistency of results and high reliability led to the prioritization and accurate weighting of criteria for purchasing supplies. Paying attention to the indicators in the purchase of medical supplies, in addition to guaranteeing the quality and continuity of services, will lead to a significant reduction in supply costs.

Keywords

• health and treatment centers
• medical supplies
• purchasing expertise
• multi-criteria decision-making
• best-worst method