Medical facilities are highly dependent on their medical inventory. Without the right tools, devices, medicines and supplies, many procedures cannot be completed, and the well-being of patients cannot be guaranteed. In the interest of efficiency and providing patient satisfaction, it is imperative that medical facilities have a medical inventory that is well-stocked and regularly updated.
The challenge with the way the medical inventory is handled in most hospitals is that it involves a lot of paperwork. Supply clerks are always counting and are always keeping a tally of what supplies are being used up by the medical facility. It can be tedious work and it presents a lot of disadvantages, including:
- Reduced productivity. Too much time is spent on keeping an accurate count of the supplies and making reports on them.
- High operational costs. More than one supply clerk is typically needed to take care of the medical inventory, and the cost of writing reports on paper is considerable as well.
- Inefficiency. The inventory is not monitored in real time, and so there is a big possibility that details may be missed. Also, the entire operation of maintaining paperwork on the medical inventory takes up too many resources that can be used elsewhere.
To make a medical facility more efficient and able to address the patient’s needs at an optimum level, one of the things that should be taken care of is the process of how the medical inventory is handled. Using an electronic method of monitoring and updating the medical inventory is a solution that Braintree offers with its BT Inventory.
What is BT Inventory?
The BT Inventory is a feature of the Braintree BMW Platform. It is the master inventory system that is built into the BMW Platform that monitors the supplies of the medical facility in real time.
The BT Inventory works on a per-use basis. Whenever a procedure is done, the nurse assisting the attending physician logs in the supplies used and the quantity. The system automatically deducts these data from the master inventory of the medical facility. Thus, the system knows at once how much of a particular item in the medical inventory is on hand at any given time.
In addition, alerts can be set when the stock of any item in the medical inventory is running low. Once the supply clerk is alerted of low levels of stock in the inventory, he or she can use the BT Inventory to draw up a purchase order and send the form to the supplier.
The Benefits of the BT Inventory
On a general level, using the BT Inventory cuts down on the time required to maintain the medical inventory through real-time monitoring and alerts. Also, because the process is paperless and automated, it also streamlines the entire process of maintaining the inventory.
On a specific level, here are the benefits that the BT Inventory can give a medical facility.
- Control. The BT Inventory allows the medical facility to keep a tight control over its medical inventory. Because nurses are required to log in all the supplies used in a procedure, nothing is wasted and everything is accounted for.
- Budget allocation. The BT Inventory can help administrators more easily determine how much is being spent on supplies and allocate funds for their purchase whenever necessary.
- Quick processing. Because the monitoring of the medical inventory is done in real time and automatically with the BT Inventory, reports, purchase orders, and even billings can be done with a few strokes on the keyboard.
With Braintree’s BT Inventory, taking care of the medical inventory becomes a lot simpler and less heavy on time and resources. It gives the medical facility more space to focus on what matters most, to address the patients and their needs effectively and satisfactorily.