ADVANCE for Executive Insight 1 ADVANCE for Executive Insight

inventory management
The more a consistent
inventory
process is
maintained, the
more efficient
and cost-effective
the departments
within a facility
become.
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as vital to avoiding additional expenses down the
line. These committees should enlist representatives
from the facility, including:
n Clinical users, who work with the equipment
daily and understand the needs of the facility
n Clinical engineers, who are responsible for the
maintenance of that equipment
n Supply chain workers, who have to stop the
consumables for that product
n Financial supervisors, who have to budget for
that equipment
n IT professionals, who are in charge of incorporating
that equipment into the facility networks
“People get too enthralled by bells and whistles
and want the latest, greatest and the newest,”
explained Skochdopole. “When, in reality, for
what they’re doing and how they’re reimbursed,
they are not necessary.”
Organizational Issues
On the other side of the coin, a large problem
that leads to cost creep is organizational policies
within the facility. Skochdopole discussed
what actions individual healthcare professionals
can take to prevent potential sources of cost
creep. Different machines and devices become
underutilized due to mistakes in recordkeeping
and inventory tracking. He pointed out that the
average device in a healthcare setting, even the
ones that seem scarce, are overstocked (i.e., average
utilization is under 50%). Rather than over
spending on extra resources, facilities can counter
the additional funding that would otherwise
go to waste by ensuring efficiency within their
own inventory departments.
“A big part of it is the clinical staff understanding
where things are, when they’re available, central
supply cleaning them, clinical engineering
maintaining them,” said Skochdopole. “So, really
it’s ‘have it available and ready when it’s time to
use it so that you don’t have to overbuy and become
inefficient.’”
Donate Unused Equipment
On top of disorganized inventory systems, hospitals
and clinics put older or unused machines
into storage rather than exploring other options;
smaller or more rural hospitals lacking in upto-date
equipment may welcome the addition
of older technology. While this is great news
for the hospital receiving the technology, this
would also be ideal for the hospitals supplying
used equipment that could then cut down on
cost creep – as storing old equipment ends up
running up bills in regards to warehouse fees and
storage costs.
As the healthcare industry continues to grow,
it’s important for healthcare facilities and their
respective staff to focus on factors that lead to
excess spending over time within the organization
and methods to limit cost creep. While new
technologies are influencing trends in hospitals
and clinics, inventory practices are becoming vital
to maintaining financial standardization over
time not only to adapt with the changing industry,
but also to know when it’s time to phase out
older equipment for newer technologies. The
more a consistent inventory process is maintained,
the more efficient and cost-effective the
departments within a facility become – and, as
the older equipment is donated to other, less
prominent hospitals lacking funds for new technology,
their programs can become more efficient
as well.
36 ADVANCE for Executive Insight