Cardiovascular Business - July/August 2008 - (Page 24)

Materials ManageMent “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.” renee Bouren, assistant director of clinical inventory, William Beaumont hospitals in michigan › Key strategies for negotiating inventory contracts Make sure physicians and administrators are on the same page. Work with physicians to understand their needs and communicate the needs of the hospital to them. By creating a collaborative, collegial environment between purchasing and cardiology, a department can ensure that physicians have the products they want for patients, while taking pricing out of the equation as the defining element. Establish a fair hospital market price for each commodity. For major physician-preferred products like pacemakers, iCDs and coronary and peripheral stents, establishing a fair hospital market price in collaboration with physicians eliminates headaches later on when vendors balk at selling products at the established price. Get a clear financial picture. negotiating an advantageous contract requires having sound, organized financial information on hand so administrators can easily understand what products are being purchased at what price and to avoid being overcharged for a particular product or service. Commit to what you can deliver. While vendors are focused on increasing their market share, departments should not make commitments for products or services that do not generate revenues. Maximize consignment. With consignment inventory, inventory is in the possession of the customer but still owned by the supplier. inventory is only purchased after it is used, enabling administrators, to free up capital and stock shelves with what is needed, when it is needed. cabinet are unlocked, the nurse hits the “take” button, the inventory is decremented and the charge applied to the patient’s bill. If a product is not used, the same thing is done in reverse, adding a credit to the patient’s bill and to the inventory. Challenges do exist, Boren admits, particularly for oversized products, which require the Pyxis cabinets to be customized for them to fit. Having the space to add new products also is a challenge. Because Pyxis is a closed system, new items cannot be added without first depleting items from existing inventory. Bouren and her team are currently preparing for the influx of new drug eluting stents (DES) due to hit the market soon. One option they are considering is to limit the number of DES vendors, rather than carry every type of stent. Despite theses challenges, Bouren rarely runs out of stock. The cath labs turn inventory about eight times a year, which is high for a cath lab, she says. Her inventory on any given day can be close to $2 million, and sometimes $3 million. They count inventory levels every week, a job easily done with the automated Pyxis system. Bouren also credits her staff, which is 98 percent compliant in keeping in line with inventory control policies. “We look for expired product once a month during our physical inventory which includes counting asset items located outside of Pyxis,” Bouren adds. “We keep a very low volume here— mostly ‘just-in-time’ inventory, but we do a complete physical inventory and report it to the eight-member senior leadership financial team.” Assessing real-time needs While the automated closed Pyxis system works well for William Beaumont, the University Health Care System in Augusta, Ga., found that Pyxis could not accommodate its need to track highdollar/high-turnover items like coronary and peripheral stents. Currently, Pyxis is a house-wide system within the 551-bed nonprofit community hospital, installed in surgery, radiology and the six cath labs, according to Teresa B. Waters, director of cardiovascular services. As an adjunct solution to Pyxis, the hospital chose to implement a radiofrequency identification (RFID) inventory manage- 24 Cardiovascular Business July/august 2008

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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