The customer, in this case, is the professor who is sick.

The supply chain and roles of the primary players

(Chopra and Meindl 2000). In this case, the supply chain many groups that form the supply chain. They include the producers of pharmaceuticals, healthcare supplies, and medical devices. The intermediaries are also in the chain as well. More so, providers of health are also available who finally deliver care to the final consumers. In the case study, the health care professionals use the equipment made by the producers (Harper and Moates 2011). For instance, the nurse who examined the professor used a stethoscope. The professor’s blood was tested using the medical equipment as well. The medications are also supplied from the producers who manufacture them. Intermediaries are the suppliers of what the producers have made. In this case, the intermediaries supply the medications to the pharmacy that the professor was taking drugs. Then the providers are health care professionals like nurses and doctors among others. Dr. Martin is no exception. The role of the providers is to examine the patients or clients and offering quality care as far as health care needs are concerned.

Implications of supply chain redesign

HealthCheck Clinic because it offers no only quality, but also less expensive care. Customers could also fear the facilities, which offer more expensive services. For instance, the professor didn’t prefer going to the emergency room partly because of the high costs of care. The University has an insurance scheme and through it, it encourages seeking care that is less expensive as well. On the same line, redesigning the supply chain in that every doctor can be able to see a client can help clients get services early in time. The professor suffered a little more because Dr. Martin couldn’t refer him to another hospital or even any other doctor.

Ethical issues in doctor’s refusal to refer

According to the American Medical Association [AMA] (2014), a physician may refer a patient for either therapeutic or diagnostic services to any other party permitted by law, to do so. Basing on this, Dr. Martin acted unethically by refusing to refer the professor to the most appropriate doctor or even to the HealthCheck Clinic. It was unethical to for him to leave the customer continue suffering yet he had no time to look at the patient. In addition, everyone has the right to make a choice of the hospital when seeking health care (NHS 2013). It was unethical for Dr. Martin to refuse to refer the professor to the HealthCheck Clinic, which the patient himself had desired to go. It’s not surprising to find that once the patient went there, his health concerns were solved out in a short time.

References

Chopra, S. and Meindl, P. (2000). Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operations. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall.

Harper, J. S. and Moates, W. H. (2011). Dr. Martins Office_FN. CJ Chan

NHS (2013). The NHS Constitution: Your rights to choice in the NHS. Accessed on 1 February, 2015. From:http://www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Rightsandpledges/NHSConstitution/Pages/Yourrightstochoice.aspx