How To Manage Medical Inventory - All In One Place

Healthcare inventory management is essential, but you must know how to manage medical inventory. An organisation always wants to track and manage its supplies effectively.

The traditional method of recording everything in a spreadsheet is quite time-consuming and not error-free. A medical inventory solution is always a better choice for accurate monitoring with no downtime.

A streamlined and well-functional inventory management system for hospitals makes it more accessible.

It helps you track all equipment in your hospital or clinic. It also improves supply-chain communication between departments. It also reduces theft, increases productivity, maintains compliance, and saves time.

You improve several organisational processes when you improve your medical supply inventory management. 

In this blog post, we will give a tour to learn how to manage medical inventory works. Medical inventory can change the game of the hospital industry workflow.

Let's Examine the facts.

What Is Inventory Management In Healthcare

Work smarter, not harder 

Inventory management is the process of tracking medications and materials at all stages. Healthcare inventory management is also known as supply chain management. If you have a daily live track in your hospital equipment, then inventory management is your choice.

Annual growth rate (CAGR) is 7.9%

The global market for hospital asset tracking and inventory management systems increased from $25.28 billion in 2022 to $35.16 billion in 2027 

According to GlobeNewswire.

What is the importance of inventory management in healthcare?

Common Challenges In Hospital Inventory Management

Manually controlling hospital inventory is ghost work. You may face some common challenges in your daily work. It is also time-consuming and will lead you to the ultimate loss.

Let's check some of it. 

Stockout And Overstock Inventory 

Manually balancing hospital stock is challenging work. Stockouts can result in missed opportunities or incomplete treatments. On the other hand, overstocks cause unnecessary financial waste.

It's a fact you must remember that 

Total unused drug waste in the healthcare industry is $2.8 billion.

Expire Products Quality 

You might know that expired medication and supplies pose a huge problem to patient safety. Because this supplier has limited self lives. So, when use expired products it can lead a patient to die.

Ultimately, it will lead to financial losses and the overall hospital's reputation.

Complex Supply Chain 

If you are not using an automated medical inventory system, you will face supply chain problems. 

In today's world, big organisations depend on third-party logistics companies and other distributors. These companies are not always available . It happens during Crises and tight deadlines. So, it's a massive limitation for your medical as well as clinics.

Manual Tracking Errors

We are human, and we make mistakes. It is a fact.

Manual medical inventory tracking errors are also essential to note. In the hospital industry, minor errors can lead to big mistakes. In the year 2024, the Excel sheet needs to be fully automated. Just because it is a software program does not make it all accurate. You have to remember that its also maintained by humans.

In the long run, it affects inventory levels and reorder decisions.An automated inventory management system in hospital can smartly solve all those errors. 

It sounds perfect !! Right?

Let's take a look at the importance of inventory management in hospitals.

Importance Of Inventory Management In Hospital

Hospital inventory equipment needs to be maintained and monitored. So inventory management solution is essential. 

The importance of inventory management in healthcare is huge. It helps to track all the necessary equipment. Software developers can help you build the perfect inventory management software. 

If you are a traditional inventory management user, then you might face this problem 

• No facilities for remote access
• The legacy inventory system is costly 
• It isn't easy to track incoming and outgoing logistics operations 
• Lack of inventory record 
• No accurate equipment list

It happens in all hospitals. Every day, some equipment goes missing. Sometimes, inventory equipment is misplaced in different departments or stolen.

All those things are easily controllable. Just use a hospital medical inventory system.

We recommend a hospital Automanager system. The hospital auto manager helps to automate all your hospital's daily work.

Proper inventory management ensures essential medical supplies and medications are always available. It also facilitates timely and effective patient care.

Efficient inventory management helps minimise waste and reduce costs.

Types Of Medical Inventory

There are two different types of medical inventory. One is the Periodic Inventory, and the other is the perpetual inventory.

Periodic Inventory Method 

In this method, you have to manually note every week. This method has a chance of error whole process takes a lot of time to complete a simple task. 

It's a suitable method for organisations that check their inventory weekly.

Most of all, it's suitable for small hospitals but not for large or medium hospitals.

Perpetual Inventory 

On the other hand, it is continuously updated inventory data. You can track all the inventory items in real-time. 

If we say formally, then 

Perpetual is a system where you can continuously track equipment like medical suppliers, equipment, and pharmaceuticals.

It continuously monitors the movement and its use of technology such as barcoding and RFID tags. 

In this system, hospitals maintain accurate stock levels, reduce wastage and minimise the stockouts.

How To Manage Medical Inventory Smartly 

Tips always help you know. Here, we gather some of the best tips that can help you to manage your medical inventory quite smartly.

If you need clarification about how to manage medical inventory, then here we are. Here we can get what are the 4 main steps in inventory management and much more.

#1. Technology And Automated Software

Regarding managing your inventory, technology comes first. 

In the modern world, many hospitals have shifted their inventory process to an automated system. So, using automated medical supply inventory software is a solution for the healthcare industry.

In hospitals, every sector, like bed management systems, appointment solutions, patient management systems, and billing systems in hospitals is automated.

The supply chain team can easily track inventory equipment through automation software.

It's too easy. Why is it so easy? Wait, we're explaining it. 

Because they can easily track actionable insights, maximising medical supplies.

Medical personnel need to prioritize cost-effective inventory management practices to efficiently manage their supplies and resources.

#2. Control The Policies Very Clearly

Policies give a company a focused aim.

A clear policy and procedures for inventory management are essential. You must Define roles and responsibilities for staff members because they are involved in inventory management. It ensures accountability and compliance with established protocols.

Set some proper guidelines, like inventory stock levels. Establish minimum and maximum stock levels for each item to prevent overstocking or stockouts.

#3. Continues Improvement And Adaption

Continually monitor and refine your inventory management processes. Be prepared to adjust and update as required based on changing needs. Advancements in technology and any necessary regulatory requirements.

Take some feedback from staff members and stakeholders to identify the error area.

By implementing these strategies in the hospital, the hospital can effectively manage its medical inventory.

It will provide optimal patient care, operational efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in your organisation.

#4. Building A  Strong Relationship

Ensuring a reliable and efficient supply chain is essential to building a solid relationship. Work effectively and closely with all the vendors to negotiate the terms and order process. Relationships will ensure an open line of communication between the hospital and the supply chain.

Explore opportunities for bulk purchasing, consignment arrangements, and just-in-time delivery to minimise carrying costs and maximise cost. 

A proactive approach to vendor management to address issues and build mutual trust easily.

#5. A Barcode Scanner Changes The Game

Using a barcode scanner would make the task much more accessible. This system efficiently manages inventory, minimising human errors. Scan and update.

It's as simple as that.

#6. Automated Alert System

Set an automated alert system for critical stock levels. This alarm will help you to notify the out-of-stock messages and some emergency messages as well. 

It is an impressive feature.

Doctors can confidently deliver quality healthcare. They can easily avoid the pitfalls of outdated medical inventory data. The alert system is a reliable safety net, promoting a secure and efficient clinical environment.

#7. Order Management System

Simple your ordering system with just one click. 

Integrate it with the medical inventory management system. An order management system helps you seamlessly track your inventory in real-time.

#8. Audits Your Inventory

Regular audits are also essential for medical inventory. Medical inventory solutions help track actual inventory limits. It also helps find discrepancies or potential issues. Regular audits ensure accountability throughout the chain of custody.

Also audits inventory for medical supplies regularly.

#9. Last of all Train Your Staff

Please recruit well-known staff who are proficient at using a medical inventory system. If staff are well-trained and know how to use the system, it's an easy task to do many tasks at a time.

Benefits Of Inventory Management System-Key Advantages

Using an inventory management system has many benefits and advantages for small or large hospital operations.

Simplified Your Inventory Management 

If you want to simplify inventory management, your first priority is to use healthcare inventory management software. 

An ideal medical inventory management software can automate these complex tasks and reduce human effort. They can focus on taking care of all. 

Easy Analytics & Maintaining Supply Chain Process 

Inventory and stock management are not one-time procedures. They are ongoing processes that occur throughout the year. When humans performed all these tasks earlier, the results could have been more accurate, which resulted in improper stock management. 

Proper implementation of an inventory management system there are no options to choose from.

Data is recorded and tracked precisely. Also, almost all orders can be synchronised, and stock levels get adjusted whenever you make a sale. 

Real-Time Tracking

The program built into the medical supply inventory software enables real-time tracking. It implies that the inventory is regularly refreshed and up to date, which gives you access to a precisely counted inventory whenever you add or sell items.

Additionally, you may manage inventory transactions and have them regularly reordered when supplies run low. You will be notified if the goods do not arrive at its location. Isn't it brilliant?

Cost- Savings

Streamlining your hospital inventory service is a way to save money. 

You had a fair chance of eliminating the inventory costs associated with human errors, but what's more? 

At First

Inventory management software can save you from nightmares about running out of supplies.

In addition, it also reduces the scope of overdrugs. It is not it! The biggest news of all is automation. Earlier, significant loss was observed due to stock-outs and overstocks. But not anymore! All thanks to the hospital inventory management systems. 

Endnote

Smartly handling medical business and knowing how to manage medical inventory at a time can be quite a task. However, after completing this blog, I assure you that we can get the best result.

Medical equipment management software for inventory management in a hospitals helps optimise performance. No perfect solution for reducing operating costs is installing an inventory system. You can reduce these rates by spending resources wisely and minimising loss and wastage.