From Idea to Market in the Local Medical Device Value Chain: A Conceptual Framework

While the medical device value chain has been extensively studied, this article enhances understanding by offering a refined approach to analyze and explore its bottlenecks. Leveraging a design science research methodology, our article introduces a medical device value chain framework that advances beyond traditional mappings. Initially, two systematic literature reviews were employed to construct a preliminary map, pinpointing 74 value-adding activities across seven distinct categories: Idea generation, research and development, production/manufacturing, market, distribution and use, waste management, and systemic aspects. The framework was utilized with structured interviews with 17 subject matter experts from the Western Cape province in South Africa. These experts evaluated each value-adding activity on a 3-D scale—importance, effort required, and difficulty. After these evaluations were looked at more closely, the most important bottlenecks in the medical device value chain could be identified. The results were then visually combined using a linking grid. This matrix-based tool helps delineate the connections between medical device value chain components, pinpointing where bottlenecks align with undesirable effects. It forms a basis for formulating strategic interventions to achieve desirable outcomes.