Intra-hospital inventory optimization in disaster planning and response: An article reviews the tertiary care hospital perspective

Disasters, whether natural or anthropogenic, are significant challenges to hospital operations, especially in resource-constrained environments. Effective intra-hospital inventory optimization is pivotal for ensuring the continuity of care during surge events, including mass casualty incidents, pandemics, and infrastructure breakdowns. This narrative review synthesizes current evidence on hospital disaster workflows, inventory management strategies, and surge capacity frameworks. Emphasis is placed on operational resilience, allocation ethics, and the application of simulation and forecasting tools. Key models, including the 4S framework, just-in-time (JIT), and vital-essential-desirable (VED) classification, are discussed alongside their limitations during crises. The review highlights critical gaps in standard protocols and calls for the development of adaptive, ethically sound, and context-specific inventory management systems to improve disaster preparedness in hospitals.