Inventory Management Articles

Medical services are often associated with high cost administration services. Our inventory expert Alan Wright lays out a lost cost alternative that keeps all the bells and whistles.

Running a medical facility is much like running a business. Beyond patient care, there are the products for servicing patient needs. Hospitals and clinics need to maintain an inventory of life-saving equipment, medical supplies and medications. They must keep track of items that have been sold or dispensed to the patients. They need at hand, a system of record keeping that tells them where medical inventory is sold, the cost of their inventory and when it is time to re-order.

While medical facilities have much of the structure of a business, they are first of all, dedicated to care-giving. While a store can put a "temporarily out" sign on a shelf, a clinic cannot afford to run out of disposable gloves, bandages and wraps and vital medical tools and medications. Medical units do not take holidays or say "closed for the summer". The life of the medical staff is fast paced, with very little time for discussing new strategies for accurate record keeping. They must utilize the tools they have on hand, depending on staff efficiency to keep it updated.

iMagic Inventory removes much of the time consuming labor involved in medical record keeping. After installing the inventory software, the medical facility can make a smooth transition to automatic tracking of invoices and receipts, logistics and accurate inventory management. It may create online requisition forms, eliminating space consuming paperwork.

Easing the Burden of Costs

Small and medium sized hospitals and clinics often work on a very tight budget. As a humanitarian service, it's not uncommon for them to have patients who do not pay their bills, or have only partially covered costs for medical procedures through their insurance policies. The losses they take can hamper the smooth efficiency of their services.

iMagic Medical Inventory is an affordable way to manage financial records without having to hire extra specialists in accounts keeping. The money saved can go back into quality provision for both the patients and the hospital staff. Nurses are on the feet all day and should be applauded for their dedication, but their roles are made much easier when electronic devices help them to identify items in stock and when it's time to replace them.

With iMagic Medical Inventory, patients can arrive at the front desk and have their sales inventory pulled up quickly for invoicing and dispensary of needed medical items. With barcode reader applications, all sales and purchases can be recorded in an active monitoring system.

The Solid Medical Practice

The age of computerized technology is here and evident more in the medical profession than nearly any other industry. Facilities make use of electronic diagnostic products, test kits, ultrasound, and other digitalized instruments. Computer savvy is becoming a standard requirement for college graduates from any field of study. It makes common sense for hospital facilities to add computer applications to keep track of inventory costs and sales apply invoices and receipts to its record keeping files and maintain contact with suppliers.

Many facilities keep inventory in more than one location. With iMagic, Inventory, an organization can record and track all product movement and categorize it by location, expiration date or serial number. Their data readout will tell them the demographic needs of a community based on the dispersal of products. Outdated supplies can be disposed of more quickly, creating space management for other important items.

The medical profession should have only one pressing concern on its mind - the care taking of patients. Medical facilities are run like a business, but business is not the first priority for doctors and nurses. Their stress is relieved when lives saving products are supplied and dispensed without time-consuming paperwork and request forms. Their responsibility to the public is fulfilled while iMagic fulfills the responsibility of maintaining inventory.