Empowering Absorptive Capacity In Healthcare Supply Chains Through Big Data Analytics And Ai driven Collaborative Platforms: A Prisma-Based Systematic Review

Abstract

The healthcare supply chain is a cornerstone of modern healthcare systems, playing a vital role in ensuring the efficient flow of medicines, medical equipment, and services to meet patient needs. In today’s dynamic and uncertain global environment, healthcare supply chains must be resilient, agile, and adaptive to disruptions caused by pandemics, natural disasters, and evolving market demands. Absorptive capacity, defined as an organization's ability to acquire, assimilate, transform, and exploit external knowledge, has emerged as a critical factor in enabling healthcare supply chains to innovate and respond effectively to these challenges. This systematic review, conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework, reviewed 50 peer-reviewed studies to explore the role of Big Data Analytics (BDA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in enhancing absorptive capacity within healthcare supply chains. The findings reveal that AI and BDA significantly improve operational efficiency, demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and risk mitigation while fostering stakeholder collaboration through real-time data sharing and advanced decision support systems. However, several challenges, including data privacy concerns, technological complexity, and resistance to change, hinder the widespread adoption of these technologies. This review also identifies actionable strategies to address these barriers, such as implementing robust cybersecurity measures, standardizing data exchange protocols, and providing training programs to build digital competencies. By synthesizing insights from the reviewed articles, this study offers valuable perspectives for policymakers, healthcare administrators, and technology developers seeking to build innovative, resilient, and efficient healthcare supply chains capable of meeting the demands of an evolving healthcare landscape.