A health care organization is only as good as the accuracy of its supply chain data, which is why MHS created their TOTAL Solution for hospitals and health care systems. This program provides health care organizations with the resources, processes and technology necessary to not only improve supply chain functions, but to optimize them. MHS’ Total Solution encompasses inventory valuation, data management, a variety of professional services as well as supply chain software solutions created by AtPar, thereby offering a comprehensive solution to the supply chain issues faced by hospitals today. These services and technology are applied through MHS’ unique three-step system of counting, cleaning and optimizing. In addition, supply chain experts at MHS possess a wide range of knowledge and will work closely with hospital supply chain and logistics leaders to assess a health care organization’s unique needs and customize the proper approach to affect the right solution. Hospital customers also are in the unique position to pick and choose the technology and services suited for their needs instead of needlessly purchasing an entire system.
When the proper resources, processes and services are in place, hospitals can control their supply chains, which is critical to ensure both patient safety and a profitable bottom line for the entire organization. Hospitals that have implemented this system have saved millions of dollars in inventory, staff and clinician productivity, and taken steps forward in a tumultuous marketplace while others have either maintained status quo or fallen behind.
Current Issues Faced by Supply Chain Leaders
According to health care industry experts, 50 percent of a hospital’s budget is attributed to the supply chain, which is why it is imperative for supply chain leaders to gain control over their operations. Problems lead to more problems; and if issues with internal customers and overall operations are ignored, the ramifications will be extremely detrimental to the logistics department’s credibility, the organization’s bottom line and especially patient care.
Data inaccuracy is a prevalent problem among health care organizations. It not only renders hospital executives incapable of making strategic decisions, it hinders an organization’s competitiveness in the marketplace, causes gross inefficiencies in accounts payable, and encourages renegade purchasing. Overstocking and “just-in-case” inventory are other issues that typically stem from clinicians’ mistrust of the supply chain. When these hoarding phenomena occur, patient safety becomes a factor due to expired items in clinical areas. Cost also becomes an issue when rebates and credits are missed.
Health care supply chain leaders are facing a moving target and must be prepared to deal with not only current issues, but also for what lies ahead. Most hospitals don’t have the resources for in-depth data analysis or the capabilities to deal with complex supply chain issues, including the coordination and implementation of technology . MHS’ team of supply chain specialists can provide a solution regardless of how daunting those challenges may seem.
Measuring success
This solution is the only one in the marketplace that combines all of the necessary elements to ensure that supply chain issues are not only addressed, but that health care organizations will have a solid foundation upon which to build future supply chain successes. Maintaining clean data and automating processes are paramount to success and MHS can provide the guidance, tools and expertise necessary to take your supply chain to the next level of performance.
Case Studies
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City; 5-hospital system
When problems began to arise with cycle counts and other inventory control functions, Memorial Sloan-Kettering logistics leaders realized that changes needed to be made to their supply chain operations. The biggest issue was that transfers between stock rooms were not being recorded accurately for either inventory room. Discrepancies began to occur, skewing counts throughout the system, which included 2,000 line items in consigned inventory valued at $2 million and 7,000 line items in the stock inventory valued at $4.5 million. Leaders chose Mobile Supply Chain Software from all the RFPs because of their experience in health care and have since implemented PAR Management, Cart Count and Pick modules that interface seamlessly with the hospital’s MMIS. The result has been a tremendous increase in supply chain efficiency and inventory accuracy, which has improved the organization’s overall bottom line.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick ; 4-hospital system
As with many organizations, it was assumed by physicians and nurses that the materials management department at RWJUH-NB was unable to perform to the expectations of clinicians. Altering that perception required an assessment of supply chain practices, which MHS performed in 24 separate supply areas of the hospital. Beginning with data cleansing and inventory analysis, MHS’ supply chain experts gleaned accurate data to help them determine PAR request quantities versus historical, which helped them figure optimal PAR level for all items. To ensure that supplies could be easily picked by nurses, each storage area was renovated, cleaned and re-organized using bins and color-coded labels. This initiative resulted in $100,000 being saved in the nursing PAR areas with an additional $200,000 saved in the OR. Additional savings were garnered by mapping the hospital’s supply item data to national GPO pricing and local pricing agreements. Over a 12-month period, the organization saved $18 million and greatly improved clinician satisfaction and its supply chain efficiency.
BJC Healthcare, St. Louis; 13-hospital system
By implementing MHS’ Mobile Supply Chain Execution suite of wireless products in its facilities, BJC is reaping the benefits of an automated supply chain. Through the use of Receiving and Delivery, Cart Count and Point-of-Use modules, the hospital has experienced increased employee and clinician satisfaction as well as savings in terms of both cost and time. With distribution alone, transactions were reduced from minutes to seconds and productivity increased 20-25 percent. Another added benefit of the distribution system is accountability—the system documents the name of the person who receives packages and produces an electronic receipt that includes the name, date and time. All applications integrate seamlessly with the health system’s existing ERP and MMIS, which ensures real-time inventory and patient charge updates.
Mobile Supply Chain Software Services, Technology , & Solutions
Inventory Valuation Services
Medical/Surgical Valuation: With advanced tools and experienced personnel, MHS applies best practices so that a hospital reaps more organization and better information regardless of the project’s size.
Capital Asset Valuation: By tagging assets with barcodes or RFID tags, MHS will find, identify and count the capital asset inventory and create an asset list by area. An additional option is to have MHS’ team provide a current depreciated asset valuation.
Pharmacy Valuation: The valuation is based on either the client providing pricing or deriving it from the average wholesale price. By counting to the unit dose and capturing NDC-level data, data-entry is validated at the time it is captured.
Benefits: Establishes an accurate and auditable baseline inventory, identifies and values consignment product, year-to-year analysis of trends allows for a focused reduction plan, reduces risk of using expired and recalled products, determines where inventory is located
Master Data Management Services
By cleansing and maintaining data and categorizing product by UNSPSC commodity code, MHS creates a foundation for positive change and technological advancement for operational efficiency. Not only is the data master item file and surgical preference cards cleansed, but the data is standardized by category management and industry-recommended product descriptions.
Benefits: Improved efficiency in requisitioning and purchasing processes, reduced invoice discrepancies, identification of non-item file items
Professional Services
Inventory Consolidation/Reduction: A full analysis of official and unofficial inventory is provided and consolidation practices are developed without compromising customer service.
Process Engineering: By creating the most efficient processes through strategic assessment, an organization can then focus on lowest total delivered costs rather than just acquisition costs.
System Implementation/Analysis: An assessment of how current systems are used allows the MHS team to identify opportunities for increased use. The team also can provide project management support for the implementation of new systems.
Benefits: Designs developed in a collaborative environment, convenient supply locations with optimal inventory, inventory locations enabled with the most applicable support systems, information that has been validated and benchmarked in hundreds of hospitals nationwide
Mobile Supply Chain Software
The operational impact of AtPar solutions on the supply chain include decreased inventory value, accuracy of data, resource optimization and accountability. Through the use of the warehouse, distribution and clinical modules as well as hand-held scanners, hospital staff and clinicians can expect an increase in productivity and reliability in supply chain processes. In addition, all of the mobile supply chain software integrates seamlessly with a hospital’s existing MMIS, ERP, OR scheduling and ADT systems ensuring real-time updates with every transaction from patient charges to package tracking. This ensures more visibility and operational efficiency in those areas of the supply chain that have historically, been problematic.
Warehouse Solutions
Put Away: Individual products are scanned prior to being stocked, and the information is sent automatically to the MMIS to update the item master in real-time.
Features:
• Multiple put-away plans at the same time to reduce trips
• Location scan confirmations reduce put-away errors
• Detailed discrepancy reports
• Employee productivity reports
• Allows bin-to-bin item transfer from one location to another
• Real-time/batch uploads and downloads using wireless or cradle-based
docking
docking
Pick: Items pulled from the shelf are scanned to ensure the MMIS receives a real-time update, that deviations are accurately recorded and clinicians receive the correct product.
Features:
• Multiple orders can be picked at the same time to reduce trips
• Pick plan provided for users by supervisors via Web-based system
• Prioritize by location
• Pick items from multiple locations
• Custom shipping label/manifest printed from hand-held
• Location scan confirmation to reduce pick errors
• Employee productivity reports
• Allows bin-to-bin item transfer from one location to another
• Real-time/batch uploads and downloads using wireless or cradle-based
docking
docking
Stock Issue: The department returning an item receives real-time credit and the inventory is updated accordingly.
Features:
• Multiple items can be scanned for issue or return
• Ability to track the issue to user, user’s signature and patient ID
• Lot and serial tracking
• Product-tracking reports issued
• Employee productivity reports
• Real-time/batch uploads and downloads using wireless or cradle-based
docking
docking
Cycle Count: Warehouse employees can perform regular cycle counts and physical inventory using hand-helds. A review screen identifies discrepancies prior to the counts being transmitted to the MMIS.
Features:
• Downloads events and items based on allocation for counting
• Allows events to be split by storage location, tag ID or item for multi-user
counting
counting
• Supports blind-cycle counting and counting by multiple users
• Review procedure enables easy recounting process
• Employee productivity reports
• Allows bin-to-bin item transfer from one location to another
• Real-time/batch uploads and downloads using wireless or cradle-based
docking
docking
Benefits of Warehouse Solutions: Improves employee productivity, ensures PAR optimization, reduces errors, optimizes resources, improves order accuracy, ensures accurate inventory counts, increases clinician satisfaction and improves patient safety
Distribution Solutions
Receive: Distribution staff use a hand-held scanner to receive PO and non-PO products and also can print barcode labels for cross-docking non-stock and non-PO items.
Features:
• Receive POs by line, schedule and ASN
• Receive inter-unit transfers (IUT) with hand-held
• Capture invoice number for ERS vendors
• Display header and line comments
• Capture lot and serial at the time of receiving
• Print custom labels for cross docking/deliveries on mobile/stationary
printers
printers
• Search POs based on several criteria
• Receiving discrepancy reporting
• ASN discrepancy reporting for vendor performance
• Lot/serial report on the server
Deliver: Distribution staff can deliver and track packages (picked, non-stock and non-PO) using a hand-held scanner.
Features:
• Download picked items, non-stock and non-PO packages by scanning location, PO and tracking
numbers
numbers
• Tracks event timings and helps track delivery performance
• Records recipient information and electronic signatures on hand-held
• Manage authorized signatories
• Tracks delivery attempts
• Self-service Web page for requesters to track deliveries from their
computers
computers
• Print delivery receipts on mobile/laser printers
Cart Count: Hand-held technology allows staff to perform Par counting and replenishment,
which provides comprehensive reports for Par optimization.
Features:
• Option to define/manage Par locations in @Par or real-time MMIS
• Download Par locations based on schedule and allocation
• Critical item counting feature
• Custom Par label printing on mobile/stationary barcode printers from
hand-held
hand-held
• Employee productivity reports
• Par optimization reporting
• Online ordering based on use/count history for Par location
• Schedule compliance reporting
• Par update from hand-held and Par audit report on changes
• Real-time/batch uploads and downloads using wireless or cradle-based
docking
docking
Benefits of Distribution Solutions: Increases accountability, allows package tracking, reports vendor discrepancy, ensures accurate inventory counts
Clinical Solutions
Point of Use: Built on an open-based architecture, this system allows for real-time tracking of inventory and automates patient charge capture. Care givers can use the available touch-screen and scanner to select patients.
Features:
• Low stock alerts based on departmental settings
• Lot, expiration and serial tracking
• Consigned item tracking
• Single-scan option with preference list scanning
• Manage and track sample/temporary items
• Put away of receipt items and track back-ordered items
• Physical counts to adjust on-hand and identify lost charges
• Real-time batch on-hand updates to MMIS
• Seamless HL7 interface to patient billing and ADT system
“Bill Only”: Hospitals can automate manual processes associated with bill-only items, vendor-managed inventory and samples with this add-on to the Point-of-Use system.
Features:
• Purchases are linked to the hospital’s inventory management process
• Provides better tracking and product recall capabilities
Case Cart: A hand-held terminal allows techs to prepare case carts and also to return unused items after a case is closed. It operates seamlessly with OR scheduling systems to ensure accurate inventory.
Features:
• Pick multiple cases simultaneously
• Reduce picking errors with location scan confirmation feature
• Facilitate tracking of DPZ utilization
• Flag reserved items at the time of pick and adjust inventory levels after the case is complete
• Improve workforce management through discrepancy and productivity
reporting
reporting
Benefits of Clinical Solutions: Update inventory counts in real time, ensures more accurate patient charge, product tracking abilities
Tracking Solution
Track It: Through the use of barcodes and tagging technology , hospital staff can track assets with hand-held technology , which eliminates unnecessary rentals and also, thefts.
Features:
• Increase asset use while reducing costs
• Increases productivity and workflow efficiency by allowing techs to plan deliveries and pick-up
times
times
• Facilitates workforce management through decision support reports
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