I am a new buyer at our Hospital, and am pioneering this position as we have never had a designated buyer. We have no electronic inventory system and I am curious what other Hospitals use to track inventory.
We are a small, rural Hospital with no nearby Hospitals to "borrow" inventory from. We have 60 beds, a small surgery suite, and an infusion center.
Misty,
This is a great question. But there is no straight forward answer. I think the best way to word it is, its a personal preference. I have worked with both systems. A manual and a automated. I personally prefer a manual system. I would walk the shelves. Look at purchase history. Figure out what's moving and how often. And I can tell you exactly what's on my shelves. With a automated I would build the space for it. Set par levels. Then run reports and purchase when needed. There was time that someone would take items without taking them out of the system. So my reports would say that there would be some, but in reality the bin would be empty. Made things go really quick. But really frustrating when things would be "off" I've worked at a 500 bed facility and a 100 bed facility. So I feel I know both sides of the coin. I guess the answer is, what ever works best for you. And sometimes its what the management thinks is the best for everyone. Good luck. Reach out to this forum when ever you need help.
