Cath Lab Digest - September 2007 - (Page 43)

43 Joan Sroczyniski, RT, “waves” the product at the point of service reader to capture its usage, where it also gets recorded in the hemodynamic system. Members of the UMass Cath Lab team. products that were unaccounted for. With WaveMark CIMS I know exactly what I have, how much and when I need to reorder, and I immediately know if something is missing.” The ease with which RFID tracks inventory and usage has provided UMass with operational efficiencies. While the WaveMark cabinets continuously monitor the status of each individual item that was received, the POS reader at the point of care captures use for a particular case, while decrementing it from inventory. Charge capture of billable supplies has improved and the accuracy of clinical documentation has increased. UMass can make informed decisions about achieving optimal inventory levels and product mix, reducing wasted product, optimizing bulk buy orders, and streamlining cumbersome manual processes. benefits the cardiovascular team was looking for. Conclusions UMass Memorial Medical Center has found the key value of the WaveMark CIMS to be the accuracy and availability of information. It’s clear that operational and financial gains will be greater when the improvement opportunities are based on highly accurate data. Being able to quickly discern usage and product turns has allowed UMass to make decisions on optimal inventory levels. Ultimately, real-time information helps even the best-run labs to achieve a greater level of efficiency. The hands-free nature of the technology would also be beneficial to smaller labs with limited staff and inventory expertise. ■ Early Results Although it’s still early in the implementation, Navarro has already decreased high-value product par levels by 9% (179 products) and is bringing down actual on-hand amounts as they are used up. Nurses and techs have waved over 1,800 items into MacLab, remarking on its ease of capturing critical data for more accurate billing. Order accuracy is considerably higher now with the RFID-enabled requisition tracking capability, thereby reducing returns processing. While it is still premature to put an exact dollar figure on savings and revenue, WaveMark CIMS seems to be providing the financial Raul Navarro, Supply Coordinator, removes an item knowing the cabinet will properly account for it. collected on a continuous basis, providing near-real time information accessible from a web browser. WaveMark provides a turnkey inventory system, which means UMass did not have to figure out which RFID readers, tags, or middleware to buy. With no disruption to productivity, WaveMark’s installation team brought in the cabinets, tagged the existing onhand products, qualified the database and trained the staff. WaveMark CIMS is a web-based solution with a monthly service fee, so there was no capital expense. Maintenance and upgrades are the responsibility of WaveMark. Operational Efficiencies Now that the labs are equipped with automated inventory tracking, hospital staff has complete visibility as to what is on the shelf, what was used in a case and what is missing. “It gives me control,” says Raul Navarro, inventory manager at UMass. “I tracked inventory pretty closely before, but there were always a few Kathryn Green is Sr. Director, Radiology Services and Cardiovascular Diagnostic & Interventional Services at UMass Memorial Medical Center. She is responsible for all clinical and administrative aspects of the cardiac cath lab, electrophysiology and interventional radiology labs across two hospital campuses. She has been in hospital administration for 17 years and gained her business acumen during her previous career as a stockbroker. She is a leader on a number of association boards including the American Heart Association and several corporate hospital advisory boards. Kathryn can be contacted at greenk01@ummhc.org. Ultimately, real-time information helps even the best-run labs to achieve a greater level of efficiency.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cath Lab Digest - September 2007

St. Dominic Hospital The Genous Bio-engineered R Stent Percutaneous Treatment of Peripheral Arterial Chronic Total Occlusions: Device Options and Clinical Outcomes Contents Clinical Editor’s Corner Percutaneous Revascularization of Peripheral Chronic Total Occlusion — Which Patients, Why, and How? Myocardial Infarction and Syncope: A Manifestation of the “Raynaud-Prinzmetal Syndrome”? Essential Technical Components of the Transradial Approach If You Build It, Will They Come? Evidence-Based Medicine with Drug-Eluting Stents Back to School: The Value of Education in Cardiovascular Services The ACVP Standards and Competencies: Are You Using Them Effectively? What Do You Think? My Experience with Fibromuscular Dysplasia and Stroke A Brief Review of Fibromuscular Dysplasia Letter to the Editor A Look at On-the-Job Training: Perceptions, Reality and Our Profession Doing the Wave: Inventory Management with RFID The Ten-Minute Interview with… Paul Pinsker, RCIS CLD’s Annual Salary Survey Harrisburg Area Community College Volunteer Survey CEU Education Center SICP* Section Ask the Clinical Instructor: A Q&A Column for Those New to the Cath Lab Clinical & Industry News

Cath Lab Digest - September 2007

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