EP Lab Digest - January 2008 - (Page 24) 24 INSIDE THE EP LAB JANUARY 2008 Inventory Management Upgrade: How One EP Lab Transitioned to WaveMark CIMS Michael Collette, RN, Resource Nurse EP Lab, UMass Memorial Medical Center, and Daniel W. Johnson, RN, Director of Surgical Services, WaveMark Inc. UMass Memorial Medical Center, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, has two electrophysiology (EP) labs. They perform approximately 1,300 EP procedures annually and maintain an inventory value of approximately $1 million at any given time. With cardiac rhythm devices ranging from $5,000–$35,000 each, and catheters costing a few thousand dollars each, UMass wanted a streamlined solution for managing this costly inventory. Specifically, our staff at UMass was looking to decrease the volume of items being stored in the labs and storerooms, while also differentiating between OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) products and reprocessed items. Setting target inventory levels, or par levels, is the single most important task to conquer in any clinical department if you want to manage your inventory properly. Most of the time reordering is done according to what was used — use one, replace one.We were determined to find a solution that would provide better management of inventory levels by analyzing usage to make target inventory recommendations, while also automating the requisition process. WaveMark CIMS, from WaveMark, Inc. was recently installed in the two EP labs after a highly successful implementation in our five-room Cardiac Cath lab. The new RFID (radio frequency identification) system has immediately put minds at ease. Our EP technician and inventory manager is especially pleased with the implementation — she can now leave at the end of the day knowing that her requisitions have been accurately placed. WaveMark CIMS uses RFID technology to provide real-time visibility of all “tagged” items in an EP lab, operating room, or procedure room. Upon installation, WaveMark CIMS automatically sets par levels according to what is actually on the shelf. This serves as the baseline for the department’s inventory level and is used to evaluate ROI success of the new solution. Carey Ann Patterson, EP technician, removes an item from an RFID bin made special for easy storage and retrieval of catheters and other long products. This approach to inventory management has decreased the amount of time spent on hunting down missing items and made requisitioning guess free. How it Works WaveMark CIMS is a web-based solution providing real-time visibility of inventory. To collect and make this information available, WaveMark installs RFID-enabled cabinets in the hospital to store and track products. Each product Michael Collette points out the RFID tag on the box that enables it to be tracked. Point-of-Service readers in the lab make it easy to track the usage of a product in a specific case. Members of the UMass EP lab staff are relieved to have the cabinets do the counting.
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