If you help run a surgical department, you know how stressful the job can be. It’s a daily challenge to balance the pressure of providing care and managing surgical inventory. The stakes are high — and there’s no room for error.
Effective surgical inventory management ensures that operating room supplies and tools are available and in excellent condition whenever needed. This significantly lowers risks of all sizes, from minor delays to major infections.
Here’s a guide to hospital inventory management best practices, innovative technologies, and how to optimize your strategy.
What is surgical inventory management?
Surgical inventory management is the process of maintaining necessary supplies for surgeries, from essential instruments and implants to basic items like gloves and gowns. When it’s time to operate, there’s no rummaging around for missing items or learning someone stocked the procedure room with the wrong tools. Supplies are always ready for action, ensuring surgeries proceed safely and on schedule.
The best way to manage any type of inventory is with software, which tracks everything from quantities to locations to expiration dates. It tells staff where to find an item and notifies them if something is old or expired. While software maintains organization and patient safety, it also saves the time people might otherwise spend counting and tracking inventory themselves.
Key components of a surgical inventory management system
Here are the key components of an effective operating room inventory management system for maintaining, tracking, and optimizing medical supplies.
Tracking and ordering
With advanced digital tracking systems, you always know what supplies are available, their exact quantities, and how much you use. And with that information, the system identifies usage patterns to predict future supply needs. For example, a hospital may use software to monitor medical supplies and keep the necessary stock of critical items like gloves, sterile instruments, and medications.
Storage and organization
Proper storage keeps equipment clean and germ-free. And while this sterility is vital to patient safety, organization is nearly as important. Staff should be able to find the supplies they need when they need them since delays could be detrimental.
Label and organize equipment in a way that matches the team’s processes. If they often use the same groups of tools simultaneously, place them next to each other in the storage area. It’s also a good idea to implement a first-in, first-out (FIFO) approach — using the oldest items first — to avoid expiration.
Quality control
A robust surgical inventory management system ensures all surgical supplies meet the highest quality and safety standards. This way, staff only use the best supplies possible, reducing infection risks and other complications.
Set strict rules for handling, storing, and sterilizing surgical tools. Develop a regular visual inspection routine to spot worn or expired items. Functional testing also spots problems you may not see with the naked eye.
Data analytics
Inventory management software does more than tell you what products are in stock and where. This software — like Fishbowl — enables real-time monitoring, detailed order history review, and live tracking of usage trends. Access the information you need to make smart decisions about what to reorder and where to stock it, reducing waste and optimizing the procurement process.
10 strategies to improve surgical inventory management
Maintain high standards of patient care, ensure smooth operations, and prevent waste with inventory management. Here are 10 strategies to improve your practices.
1. Implement inventory tracking software
Advanced inventory management software like Fishbowl tracks surgical supplies in real time, comprehensively monitoring inventory levels, usage patterns, and expiration dates. By analyzing this data, healthcare providers avoid shortages, prevent overstocking, and manage their supply chain more effectively — all while saving the time and effort it would take to do so manually.
2. Standardize inventory processes
Creating and following standardized procedures keeps ordering, receiving, and stocking surgical supplies consistent. And consistency is key to preventing errors and oversights. When all team members follow the same clear guidelines, it reduces the chances of mistakes, maintaining high standards of patient care and safety.
3. Set part levels
In surgical inventory management, “parts” refers to the medical supplies, instruments, and devices needed for surgeries and other procedures. Setting a minimum and maximum level for each part ensures availability and reduces costs. The minimum is the lowest amount of stock you need to avoid running out, while the maximum is the highest amount you can keep without wasting money.
This strategy provides a safety buffer for unexpected demand or supply delays and prevents overstocking, which can tie up money, increase storage costs, and lead to obsolete supplies. It also prevents stockouts that could delay surgeries.
4. Automate reordering
Set up automated reordering systems for a steady supply of critical inventory. These systems let you define reorder points, assign default vendors, and use min/max levels to automatically buy more supplies when they get low. This proactive method prevents stockouts so you always have essential items.
5. Conduct regular audits
While inventory software is accurate, the manual inputs might not be. Take the time to conduct thorough inventory audits every few months and make sure stock levels are as accurate as possible. This helps you spot issues like theft, human error, or misplaced supplies.
6. Use barcode technology
No more writing down item quantities with a pen and paper. Barcode scanning technology makes tracking inventory much easier — just scan an item’s barcode and it’s in the system. You can efficiently monitor the movement and status of your supplies, reduce manual entry mistakes, and speed up the inventory management process.
7. Classify inventory
Organize items according to frequency of use, level of importance, and expiration dates. This approach ensures that high-priority items are always readily available and minimizes the risk of using expired supplies.
Implementing an organization-first inventory management system like Fishbowl is the best way to classify every item without getting overwhelmed. Track and label inventory by nearly anything — lot number, expiration date, received date, country of origin, and more.
8. Prioritize supplier relationships
Maintaining supplier relationships is about more than ordering supplies when you need them. Regular communication and transparency about your needs can significantly streamline procurement and build trust.
Understanding suppliers’ challenges and limits and respecting their expertise can smooth out negotiations and get you better deals. Use the opportunity to set extended contracts and receive supplies regularly for a few months or years — they give suppliers much-needed stability and often mean better deals for you.
9. Implement just-in-time inventory
Just-in-time (JIT) inventory strategies minimize waste and cut storage costs. They make sure you have the necessary items when needed and in the right amounts so you don’t hold too much extra stock. Using JIT strategies reduces the risk of outdated inventory, lowers carrying costs, and improves overall efficiency.
10. Train staff
Everyone plays a role in keeping inventory records accurate. Provide thorough training so staff understand inventory management principles and know how to use the system effectively. That way, they can spot and handle issues before they become larger problems, leading to smoother operations and better customer satisfaction.
Enhance your surgical inventory management with Fishbowl
Surgeries can’t happen without supplies. Finding the right inventory management solution can simplify processes, reduce waste, and ultimately improve patient care. And that’s where Fishbowl comes in.
Fishbowl’s integrated system helps you avoid unnecessary waste and maintain ideal stock levels every day. Plus, its seamless QuickBooks integration ensures accurate accounting and takes inventory management to the next level.
With features like real-time inventory updates, reorder notifications, and detailed analytics, you’ll have everything you need to continuously improve. Get ready for a major upgrade with Fishbowl. Book a demo today.
