Why is product consumption so hard to record?

Keeping track of surgical supply inventory in operating rooms and procedural labs is no easy task.

So, today I want to talk about why.

WHY is it so hard to get every product used in surgery into the EHR?

The way I see it there are three main issues that prevent the routine documentation of the products used in surgery.

1.???? TIME: Perioperative nurses need to juggle supply chain tasks with patient care, and of course, the patient comes first.

2.???? TOOLS: The tools available to record product usage at the point of care routinely struggle to capture all the required data, and may also fail to recognize items. Once the automated process falls down, an elongated admin workaround is required. This may be actioned. Or it may not. Products that aren’t simple and easy to record during the surgery risk not being documented at all.

3.???? TYPES: The complexity of surgical inventory is a big issue. ?The different types of medical devices and implants used in OR and procedural labs are a mix of owned stock, consignment inventory, and bill-only products, such as trunk stock. Non-stock items may not be preloaded into the system, may not be associated with a purchase requisition, and may not be listed correctly (or at all) in the hospital item master.

WHY is bad data such a problem for operational management and healthcare leadership?

Lack of full and accurate consumption data has operational and management implications such as:

SUPPLY CHAIN: Without accurate surgical utilization data, the materials management?team end up basing?procurement decisions on partial data?and best guesses. They do not have an accurate view of demand. The relationship between the collection of accurate product usage and the achievement of a streamlined, perpetual inventory are connected.

COST SAVINGS: Inaccurate consumption data results in stock surpluses and wastage. Lack of data weakens contractual negotiations and prevents proactive strategies for cost reduction, such as tackling PPI variation and improving product standardization.

PATIENT SAFETY: Patient safety is safeguarded by accurate medical records Consumption data is vital clinical information that needs to be easily referenced to support ongoing patient care and to enhance patient safety, for example handling a future product recall.

MANAGEMENT: Inaccurate and incomplete consumption data means that leadership cannot make data-driven decisions, for example calculating accurate cost per case data for planning provision, procurement and financial forecasting.

WHY do providers tolerate poor point of use systems that aren’t up to the job?

Providers have been compensating for poor point of use systems for years. They’ve put arrangements in place for additional documentation, internal audits and documentation reviews. These may be effective in bringing the EHR up to date but the truth is that they take up a lot of resources, time and effort, which all come at a cost.

Making any change takes time to plan and implement but we’d say that this is an investment in the future.

As the drive to improve margins and efficiency are ever more important, settling for an inadequate point of use data capture tool that requires workarounds and post-surgery activity is holding providers back.

Traditionally, healthcare providers have had a reactive approach to dealing with bad OR data.

It’s time to get proactive and deal with the source of the issue.

HOW to get point of use data collection right – without the fuss

One of the reasons that providers have put up with ineffective point of use documentation systems is that there simply wasn’t a good solution out there.

But finally, IDENTI has developed a first-of-its-kind custom-fit?data collection tool for the point of use. Snap&Go uses the powerful combination of image recognition technology, backed up by an AI system.

No other point of care solution comes close to the data outputs of image-recognition and AI, and here’s why:

• EVERY reportable, billable item used in surgery can be captured whether it’s a stock item, consignment inventory, a bill-only product or a small consumable without a barcode or packet.
• FULL DATA is captured – UDI, batch number, lot, expiry date – no need to fix anything or add missing data.
• AUTOMATED item identification is via a globally-populated SKU database which acts like your virtual item master – dealing with items that don’t find a match in your own system. There’s even a human back-office as a final safety net, to ensure none of your staff need to be involved in this task.
• DOCUMENTATION is seamless – all consumption data feeds straight into your EMR, ERP, and MMIS systems, making sure that valuable usage data is promptly shared into vital operational workflows.
• DATA in the form of real-time metrics, reports and analytics are produced to ensure this vital data point delivers the business intelligence that management need to make smart decision.

Snap&Go?is a unique custom-solution for the point of care that achieves 100% item and charge capture, while reducing the admin burden on nurses.

Managing and tracking surgical supply items in OR and Procedural Labs is now easily achievable, supporting the enhanced delivery of high-quality healthcare.

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