In Simple words, inventory management in healthcare is about ensuring adequate stock to meet patients’ needs. However, on a real-time basis, the unpredictable nature of operating rooms makes it impossible to anticipate every need, but the absence of any lifesaving item can send the spanner in between the wheel. Though the procurement of items and redistribution in various departments seems to be easy, a close look at the overall process will reveal that it involves the need to capture the journey that the inventory makes from delivery to usage. Further, data relating to usage is to be processed internally so that the inventory circle can be closed.
Let’s examine this perpetual medical cycle.
- Stock storage
- Stock control
- Usage
- Charge capture
- Recording on ERP / EHR
- Medical billing
- Reimbursement
- Procurement
To cover the full medical inventory cycle as mentioned above and also adhere to FDA or other regulations, end-to-end hospital inventory workflows are needed. ERP or EHR needs to be quick and simple so that it does not grow up as an administrative challenge. In addition, any new software installed needs to integrate with existing hospital systems, such as ERP and EHR. Mentoring programs designed at Stratist are especially in health care management.
Importance of Inventory management
Due to the critical nature of the healthcare delivery system, inventory needs to be available upon demand. This necessitates the hospital to have accurate knowledge of stock levels, right down to the location of specific items in units. Obtaining such a detailed overview of the hospital’s inventory is not as simple as it sounds. In addition, it’s not just the stock items themselves that need to be tabulated, but all of its associated data too.
Setting up effective inventory management may not be a child’s play but it is vital to get this aspect of hospital administration right.
Managing inventory is:
- one of the critical processes that underpin the delivery of quality patient care
- one of the largest areas having a financial impact on health care delivery
- one of the major keys to the organization’s commercial success
With such a high stake, inventory management deserves a great level of priority, however, it’s a complex and cross-organizational issue. Inventory may have the operating room at its core but as shown below, there are key periphery functions viz
Supplier Logistics and purchasing
Dashboard
Central storage room
Core store room (Nursing stations, OT, etc.)
Revenue & billing
Medical Records
There could be inventory even for planned surgeries, decision-making happens in real-time meaning that specific or additional inventory requests can be made on the spot. Some of these requests may require a transfer of item/s from outside of the department or delivery directly from suppliers. Items thus procured are particularly going to remain untracked in the hospital inventory management system.
Stocks are mobile, and therefore, you need a system that provides a tracking and audit trail of all inventory stock and also enables nursing or admin staff to electronically capture the data of all items used during procedures. The inventory tracking should have simple, quick, and effective workflows in place to enable, successful item capture and tracking to be achieved, can the data be shared with the medical records, medical billing, procurement teams, and vendors. Items that are not captured have a bottom-line impact and hamper inventory management. Capturing chargeable items irrespective of supply from stores or vendors is, therefore, a critical workflow.
We at Stratist have three programs for training and mentoring entrepreneurs in the healthcare sector to explore, and innovate benefits suited for the market and operate the business thereof viz: Spark, Ignite & Empower. The senior leadership program at Stratist is designed to endow you with such skills required for business leadership.
For more details, please get in touch with us @
Stratist Pvt.Ltd.
26, Palm Grove Enclave, Gubbalala, Subramanyapura Post,
Bangalore – 560061, Karnataka, India
Phone: +91 962 095 9599
Email : info@stratist.in
In Simple words, inventory management in healthcare is about ensuring adequate stock to meet patients’ needs. However, on a real-time basis, the unpredictable nature of operating rooms makes it impossible to anticipate every need, but the absence of any lifesaving item can send the spanner in between the wheel. Though the procurement of items and redistribution in various departments seems to be easy, a close look at the overall process will reveal that it involves the need to capture the journey that the inventory makes from delivery to usage. Further, data relating to usage is to be processed internally so that the inventory circle can be closed.
Let’s examine this perpetual medical cycle.
- Stock storage
- Stock control
- Usage
- Charge capture
- Recording on ERP / EHR
- Medical billing
- Reimbursement
- Procurement
To cover the full medical inventory cycle as mentioned above and also adhere to FDA or other regulations, end-to-end hospital inventory workflows are needed. ERP or EHR needs to be quick and simple so that it does not grow up as an administrative challenge. In addition, any new software installed needs to integrate with existing hospital systems, such as ERP and EHR. Mentoring programs designed at Stratist are especially in health care management.
Importance of Inventory management
Due to the critical nature of the healthcare delivery system, inventory needs to be available upon demand. This necessitates the hospital to have accurate knowledge of stock levels, right down to the location of specific items in units. Obtaining such a detailed overview of the hospital’s inventory is not as simple as it sounds. In addition, it’s not just the stock items themselves that need to be tabulated, but all of its associated data too.
Setting up effective inventory management may not be a child’s play but it is vital to get this aspect of hospital administration right.
Managing inventory is:
- one of the critical processes that underpin the delivery of quality patient care
- one of the largest areas having a financial impact on health care delivery
- one of the major keys to the organization’s commercial success
With such a high stake, inventory management deserves a great level of priority, however, it’s a complex and cross-organizational issue. Inventory may have the operating room at its core but as shown below, there are key periphery functions viz
Supplier Logistics and purchasing
Dashboard
Central storage room
Core store room (Nursing stations, OT, etc.)
Revenue & billing
Medical Records
There could be inventory even for planned surgeries, decision-making happens in real-time meaning that specific or additional inventory requests can be made on the spot. Some of these requests may require a transfer of item/s from outside of the department or delivery directly from suppliers. Items thus procured are particularly going to remain untracked in the hospital inventory management system.
Stocks are mobile, and therefore, you need a system that provides a tracking and audit trail of all inventory stock and also enables nursing or admin staff to electronically capture the data of all items used during procedures. The inventory tracking should have simple, quick, and effective workflows in place to enable, successful item capture and tracking to be achieved, can the data be shared with the medical records, medical billing, procurement teams, and vendors. Items that are not captured have a bottom-line impact and hamper inventory management. Capturing chargeable items irrespective of supply from stores or vendors is, therefore, a critical workflow.
We at Stratist have three programs for training and mentoring entrepreneurs in the healthcare sector to explore, and innovate benefits suited for the market and operate the business thereof viz: Spark, Ignite & Empower. The senior leadership program at Stratist is designed to endow you with such skills required for business leadership.
For more details, please get in touch with us @
Stratist Pvt.Ltd.
26, Palm Grove Enclave, Gubbalala, Subramanyapura Post,
Bangalore – 560061, Karnataka, India
Phone: +91 962 095 9599
Email : info@stratist.in