An Ideal Solution for Better Hospital Inventory Management

An Ideal Solution for Better Hospital Inventory Management

When we think about hospitals and medical facilities, inventory management is not usually one of the first things that come to mind, but it is actually one of the most vital parts of life-saving healthcare operations.

Doctors, nurses and staff need the right equipment, medicines and supplies to successfully treat patients. And those assets need to be available at the right place and at the right time, which brings us to the importance of healthcare inventory management, a big focal point in our work at Ahearn & Soper.

We have spent over 40 years helping our clients optimize their inventory levels and streamline ordering and replenishment with technologies and solutions that help ensure that healthcare providers never have to work without the right medicines or supplies. Nor do they have to spend unnecessary time tracking down the equipment they need.

Good inventory/asset tracking software integrates with barcode scanning and radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies to capture and track inventory data in real-time, from a warehouse or hospital storage area all the way through your processes and right to the patient’s bedside. This way, you’ll know in an instant where a required piece of equipment or the right supplies are, and you can see their locations, the quantities that you have available, and what you might need to replenish.

By combining the right mobile technologies with the right inventory/asset management software, you can quickly label and track healthcare supplies and inventories with a push or tap of a button or a scanner trigger. The right software will provide access to extensive analytics and reports that give you complete visibility into all of your inventory and related processes. This will help manage everything efficiently and control costs with more accurate and proactive information.

Most hospitals already use AIDC solutions such as barcode scanners to track inventory and assets. But they may not be taking advantage of opportunities to move to tablets or mobile computers that can run mobile software to automate and streamline inventory tasks and help care providers deliver better patient care outcomes.

Enterprise tablets or touch mobile computers such as Zebra’s ET52, TC21-HC, TC52-HC and TC52x-HC can enable a digital transformation of patient care workflows. They are certified to run the mobile versions of all major healthcare EMRs as well as virtually any other healthcare and inventory app you might need for patient care. With an all-in-one device, physicians, nurses and other care providers can easily access patient records, decision support, specimen tracking, and other digital tools for streamlining workflows anywhere along the continuum of care. They can also access secure voice, video and text communications as well as real-time alerts, helping providers communicate and coordinate care in real-time.

Using fast and reliable devices such as these helps providers ensure that they are matching the right care, medications and specimens to the right patient. You can also easily integrate your tracking technologies with your EMRs and other healthcare apps and systems to help capture patient, medication, specimen and other data so you can automate your care workflows with timesaving and error-proofed efficiency.

If you don’t have a digital inventory management system in place or your current system isn’t keeping up with your needs and you’re not fully mobilizing and digitizing your care workflows, consider talking to an Ahearn and Soper representative.

Our team at Ahearn & Soper can help you evaluate options and determine the best technologies, apps and solutions to help automate your inventory processes.

Make sure you always have the right supplies and equipment ready when and where they’re needed. To get started, contact us now through our website or call us at 877-977-6967.