Cardiovascular Business - July/August 2008 - (Page 23)

Materials ManageMent › By Sarah L amBerti Overcoming Barriers to Cath Lab Inventory Control as multifunctional cardiac catheterization labs see new cardiovascular products constantly arriving and old ones getting pushed to the back shelves, administrators need a well-organized storage space, as well as a sophisticated method for integrated inventory management to control costs and revenue. A Between 11 cath labs at two William Beaumont hospitals, physicians perform more than 12,000 procedures annually. Barbara Stevenson, a material coordinator at the royal Oak, mich., facility, takes a Cypher drug-eluting stent from the Pyxis inventory control system, an automated, transactionbased, closed system from Cardinal health. s healthcare costs continue to rise, hospitals and facilities are looking to trim costs without compromising the quality of patient care and safety. Supply chain management is a strategy many facilities have incorporated since inventory can represent 20 percent or more of a hospitals’ operating budget. To keep within budgets, control over inventory is a key function within any hospital, but especially in high procedure volume areas like operating rooms, emergency departments and cardiac catheterization labs. In light of this, the pressure to pinch pennies and reduce costs is fierce for cardiovascular (CV) administrators, particularly given the increasing variety of products that CV administrators and inventory control managers must stock. The trick for inventory teams is to maintain a balance between the latest technology to come online and the products that already stock their shelves. And CV administrators must do this in a way that keeps physicians happy while staying on budget. Eliminating the guesswork in supply chain management is critical for the cath lab environment because the cost of inventory within the labs is typically higher than other areas of the hospital. “Keeping inventory levels and supply expense low is a main function, but balancing that with enough inventory for physicians to use on hand is the double-edged sword,” says Renee Bouren, assistant director of clinical inventory at William Beaumont Hospitals in Royal Oak, Troy and Grosse Pointe, Mich. The three-hospital system has 1,711 licensed beds and 12 cath labs between them. The volume for the Royal Oak and Troy hospitals (Grosse Pointe’s single cath lab numbers are insignificant) is more than 12,000 procedures annually, including diagnostic caths, interventional cardiology and peripheral vascular procedures. To control inventory, the cath labs utilize Pyxis, an automated, transaction-based, closed system from Cardinal Health. At Royal Oak, the hospital has installed two Pyxis units in each of the eight labs, and another 20 in an outer core. At Troy, they have two units in each of the three labs, and another eight in an outer core. When nurses or technologists need an item, they go to a unit and pull up the patient record through the Pyxis computer at the station. Once the patient’s file is chosen, the doors to the supply CardiovascularBusiness.com Cardiovascular Business 23 http://CardiovascularBusiness.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cardiovascular Business - July/August 2008

Cardiovascular Business - July/August 2008 Table of Contents First Word Cover Story: Planning for the Ideal Cath Lab Requires the Multidisciplinary Approach Clinical Study Digest: Cell Phone Technology Speeds Ecgs As Real-Time 3d Echo Matures, It Finds a Clinical Niche Ecg Image Management Brings Increased Productivity and Confidence Overcoming Barriers to Cath Lab Inventory Control Maximizing Reimbursement, Minimizing Penalties News & Views Calendar Reader Resources The Back Page

Cardiovascular Business - July/August 2008

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