Healthcare inventory management is crucial to ensuring the availability of supplies for effective patient care and cost control.

In this article, we’ll unpack:

• An overview of healthcare inventory management challenges
• The challenges of inventory management in patient care
• Steps to build inventory management systems
• How Blaze.tech can help build custom inventory management solutions

Let’s understand the impact of healthcare inventory.

Medical Inventory Management: The Numbers

While medical personnel are the backbone of any healthcare organization, they cannot provide patient care without medical equipment.

Yet 57% of healthcare workers can recall a specific time when a physician didn't have the medical inventory required for a procedure.

The correlation between inventory management and patient outcomes cannot be overstated. ‍

Consider the statistics:

• 58% of the day is wasted in some hospitals and health systems on "indirect activity," which includes searching for medical supplies necessary for patient care.
  
  
• 93% of healthcare executives say that they still struggle with medical inventory management, underscoring the fact that this is a long-term problem that goes beyond disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  
• 50% cost reduction and 20% profit gain are possible when investing in an automated inventory management system, per the Harvard Business Review.
  

Proper inventory management ensures life-saving equipment is always on hand. It reduces costly waste and lets medical staff focus on what matters most: healing people. With the right system, hospitals can transform chaos into efficiency, ultimately saving lives and money.

Types of Hospital Inventory Management Systems 

Hospitals are increasingly focused on inventory dashboards and management to improve patient care and operational efficiency. Here are four key systems used in healthcare settings:

1. Just-in-Time (JIT) Inventory Management: JIT systems order supplies as needed, often for scheduled procedures. This approach reduces storage costs and minimizes waste but requires precise timing and accurate data to prevent shortages.
   
   
2. ABC Inventory Management: This system categorizes items based on value and usage frequency. High-value, frequently used items (category A) receive the closest monitoring. For example, critical medications would fall under this category, ensuring their constant availability.
   
   
3. Consignment Inventory Management: Suppliers retain ownership of inventory until used by the hospital. This is often applied to expensive medical devices. The hospital stocks the items but only pays upon use, helping to manage costs effectively.
   
   
4. Automated Inventory Management: These systems use technology like barcode scanning to track inventory. For instance, automated processes and dispensing machines for medications can update inventory levels in real time, reducing manual errors and labor costs.

Each system addresses specific operational needs and can be adapted to suit a hospital's unique requirements. The choice depends on factors such as the facility's size, specialties, and resource allocation priorities.

The 5 Challenges of Healthcare Inventory Management

Healthcare inventory management is a complex task with far-reaching implications for patient care, operational efficiency, and financial performance.

The following challenges represent key areas where healthcare facilities often struggle to optimize their inventory processes.

Challenge #1: Patient Safety

A key concern in healthcare is patient safety, which is directly impacted by inventory management. Inadequate inventory can lead to critical shortages of essential supplies, jeopardizing patient care.

For example, a lack of vital surgical items or medications can delay treatments, increasing the risk of adverse outcomes. A data breach could compromise patient trust and put sensitive data at risk.

Healthcare leaders must recognize the grave implications of these shortages and prioritize robust inventory management to safeguard patient welfare.

Challenge #2: Bulk Purchasing Contracts

While bulk purchasing contracts can be cost-effective, they also pose a risk of overstocking or having obsolete items in a healthcare facility. This not only ties up valuable financial resources but also increases the risk of waste, particularly with perishable medical supplies.

Decision-makers need to carefully assess these contracts to ensure they align with actual usage patterns, avoiding unnecessary financial burdens and inefficiencies.

Challenge #3: Enterprise Resource Planning Integration

The challenge of integrating a healthcare inventory management system with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is crucial yet complex. Inconsistent data between systems can lead to inaccurate inventory tracking, impacting decision-making and operational efficiency.

Healthcare leaders must emphasize the importance of seamless integration to ensure real-time data accuracy and operational coherence.

Challenge #4: Inventory Costs

Balancing inventory costs while ensuring the availability of essential supplies is a tightrope walk for healthcare organizations. Excessive inventory leads to escalated costs, whereas patient care is at too little risk.

The financial implications are significant, demanding astute management to optimize inventory levels and ensure cost-effectiveness without compromising on the quality of care.

The cost of medical inventory mismanagement ranges from storage space costs to products lost due to unused, expired products. 

Challenge #5: Hospital Data Management

Effective healthcare data management is essential in powering healthcare inventory management software. Inaccurate or outdated data can lead to poor inventory decisions, affecting both costs and patient care.

The need for accurate, real-time data is critical in guiding purchasing decisions, predicting demand, and maintaining optimal inventory levels.  Decision-makers in healthcare must prioritize advanced medical inventory management software that offers comprehensive and accurate data management capabilities.

Addressing these challenges is critical for healthcare leaders. It demands a proactive approach to ensure optimal inventory management, balancing financial constraints with the imperative to provide high-quality patient care.

The Power of Software Solutions in Hospital Inventory Management

Blaze.tech offers a revolutionary no-code platform that streamlines healthcare inventory management, enhancing operational efficiency and patient care. Here's how healthcare facilities can harness Blaze's power to transform their inventory processes:

• Custom inventory apps for specialized needs: Create tailored systems to track specialized equipment using Blaze's intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Start with basic templates and add complexity as needed.
  
  
• Centralizing data across departments: Aggregate data like healthcare documents from various departments into a centralized dashboard, presenting real-time inventory levels, reorder points, and usage trends for improved decision-making.
  
  
• Automating supply chain processes: Set up automated triggers for reordering critical items when inventory drops below predetermined thresholds. Start with high-turnover items to refine the process.
  
  
• Enhancing HIPAA compliance: Create secure inventory forms that segregate sensitive patient information from general inventory data, with regular reviews of access permissions.
  
  
• Implementing role-based access: Customize permissions for viewing and editing inventory data based on staff roles, ensuring appropriate access levels across the organization.

Practical Steps To Build Your Inventory Management System With Blaze

Creating an effective inventory management system with Blaze doesn't have to be daunting. By following these steps, you can build a healthcare web app or an AI application that meets your healthcare facility's unique needs.

Step 1: Assess current needs: Begin by thoroughly evaluating your existing inventory management processes. Identify pain points, inefficiencies, and specific features you need in the new system. Involve staff from various departments to gain a comprehensive understanding of challenges and requirements across your organization.

Step 2: Design your system: Create a blueprint of your ideal inventory management process. Sketch out workflows, define key data points to track, and plan your dashboard layout. Consider both daily operational needs and long-term strategic goals when designing your system architecture.

Step 3: Build basic structure: Start your Blaze project by setting up the main inventory database and designing essential data entry forms.

Focus on creating a solid, functional foundation that includes a main inventory view with sorting and filtering options and a simple dashboard displaying key metrics.

Step 4: Implement automation: Use Blaze's automation capabilities to streamline operations. Set up automated reorder triggers, create notification systems for low stock or approaching expiry dates, and implement barcode scanning for quick updates.

This step is crucial for reducing manual work and minimizing errors.

Step 5: Use advanced features: Once the basics are in place, add more sophisticated modules such as supplier management, equipment check-in/check-out systems, and predictive analytics for demand forecasting.

These enhancements will significantly improve your inventory management capabilities and provide valuable insights for decision-making. 

FAQs

What are the 4 main types of inventory management system?

The four types of inventory management systems are just-in-time management (JIT), materials requirement planning (MRP), economic order quantity (EOQ), and days sales of inventory (DSI). Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, so it's important to choose the one that best suits your business needs.

What are the 4 main steps in inventory management?

The 4 main steps in inventory management are assessing your current inventory, reviewing past inventory records, analyzing sales data, and identifying which items to repurchase or retire.

How do hospitals keep track of inventory?

Hospitals keep track of inventory by using a combination of tools and technologies. They use inventory management software, barcoding, RFID tracking, and data analytics to streamline operations and prevent stockouts or overstocking. These tools ensure that healthcare providers have access to the necessary resources when needed, ultimately enhancing patient care.

How do perpetual inventory systems benefit a healthcare business?

Perpetual inventory systems offer significant advantages for a healthcare business, especially when compared to traditional manual processes.

By continuously tracking inventory levels in real-time, these systems ensure that healthcare facilities always have an accurate count of medical supplies and equipment. This constant monitoring helps in preventing stockouts or overstocking, which can be costly and disruptive.

Next Steps: Try Blaze’s No-Code Platform

Blaze offers a powerful no-code platform tailored for healthcare inventory management. Its intuitive visual interface allows you to create custom applications that address your facility's unique needs, all while maintaining enterprise-grade security and HIPAA compliance.

A standout feature of Blaze is its dedicated implementation team. They work alongside you to build the initial version of your inventory management system, significantly reducing development time and easing the transition to a more efficient process.

To experience how Blaze can transform and simplify your healthcare inventory management, we invite you to try a free demo. This hands-on experience will showcase how Blaze's features can streamline your operations and improve patient care.

Schedule a Free Demo Today.