Product line management in hospitals: an exploratory study of managing change.

Hospitals often have looked to industry as a source of solutions to business problems. In recent years, they have begun to adopt a concept that has been used by manufacturers for more than 50 years--product line management (PLM). One characteristic of PLM is the designation of a product champion whose responsibility it is to promote the product both inside and outside the organization as well as to view for organizational resources to support the product. This article presents the findings of an exploratory study that indicates that although many hospitals are successfully utilizing PLM, a number of barriers to the implementation of this concept remain.