Pharmaceutical Inventory Management
In a recent interview with Becker’s Hospital Review, Lisa Zierten, director of marketing for hospital services at Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health said:
- shrinkage in products and product expiration is another source of waste in the healthcare supply chain. Every day, as much as 10 percent of products expire on hospital shelves
- hospital leaders must take a holistic approach to supply chain management and go beyond the cost of acquisition. They must focus on other ways to reduce costs, such as improving utilization, reducing waste and examining clinician workflows
- hospitals must move away from complicated, manual supply chain processes to more technology-driven systems to be effective in the new healthcare environment
The management of Cost Control Solutions has been promoting the need for the improved management of pharmaceuticals with our associated systems and services to address this significant need.
The reduction in reimbursements that hospitals receive, coupled with the increase in labor and acquisition costs of pharmaceuticals, should incentivize health system management to act; selecting systems and services to eliminate the expiry of products that lose much of their credit value and substantially reduce the labor associated with the management of pharmaceuticals in remote locations. This is 2017, isn’t it time to purchase products based on PAR levels rather than a sixth sense? And manage pharmaceuticals outside the main pharmacy with a simple cloud based system rather than with Avery stickers, sharpies or RFID tags? You would think.
If you would like to discuss the management of pharmaceuticals in a hospital environment,contact me at 321.617.7623 or rmiller@costcontrol-solutions.com
An exchange of ideas regarding cost saving systems and processes can only benefit your hospital or health system.