Inventory Control

     Since implementing onboard Mobile Gateway and onboard Mobility Manager from Canadian-based In Motion Technology, a Georgia EMS system has noticed dramatic improvement in its overall performance. Puckett EMS, located in southwest Cobb County, has improved patient care by reducing ambulance response times, controlling driver performance, reducing insurance costs, implementing EMT continuing education and reducing billing time and billing staff. Now, Puckett EMS is testing AmbuTrak, a proprietary inventory-control system that enables real-time monitoring of equipment and supplies in each vehicle via In Motion Technology.

     "About a year ago, we started to seriously look at having software, both in the field and as a back office function, that would tell us what's in inventory on the supply room shelves and in the vehicles," says Puckett's Chief Operating Officer, Shane Garrison. "We found a company that wrote an inventory-tracking program for us that is Web-based. With In Motion Technology, all of our ambulances have Internet access, which allows them to use AmbuTrak."

     At the beginning of each shift, the ambulance crew logs in with a user name and password, selects the unit they're working on that day, and accesses a control panel with a list of cabinets that have to be inventoried.

     "A red X appears to tell them if a cabinet has not been inventoried, and a green check with an exclamation point means they've checked the cabinet, but it's below par or there's an expired item in the cabinet," Garrison explains. "We use a sealed cabinet system, so the inventory follows a vehicle day to day. If a cabinet shows a seal, the crew moves on. If there is no seal, the program shows what supplies should be inside, the crew verifies what's there, applies a new seal and moves on to the next cabinet. If items have been used, the crew can generate an inventory request that goes via pager or e-mail to the supervisor, who then meets that vehicle and replenishes its supplies."

     Garrison likes the fact that the program makes crew members accountable for their own supplies. "A button on the control screen indicates what cabinets have been inventoried, as well as the date, time and user," he says. "If there are supplies missing, it's easy to see who inventoried the cabinet and was responsible for resupplying it. We've tried to make this as automated as possible so supervisors don't have to constantly log into the system. With e-mail notification, they know what needs to be supplied for the day.

     "We're already working on the next version, which will include bar-coding, and we want to give administrators the ability to craft their own reports, rather than just use the canned reports that come with the software. The reason we built this is to allow the providers to get out and take care of patients with the equipment they need to do their job."

Inventory Control No Longer an Issue in Delray Beach
      For the past two years, Lt. Ed Crelin of the Delray Beach (FL) Fire-Rescue Department figures he was spending up to three hours of his shift just keeping track of inventory. When you only work 24 hours every third day, that's a considerable amount of time that could be spent on other administrative duties. But those days are in the past, since EMS Delray Beach implemented a new inventory-management system using a Psion Teklogix mobile computing solution to monitor the contents of their medical supply room.

     "We have six fire stations, with six ALS rescue vehicles and five ALS suppression units, and at least one unit from each station comes in each day to restock," says Crelin. "When I became rescue supervisor, it was part of my job to keep the closet supplied, and, because I'm only here every three days, the only way I could track what was going out was to physically look on the shelves to see what was missing. The other supervisors and I thought there had to be a better way to know what's being used."

     That's where the National Technology Services (NTS) inventory-management system comes in. Now, says Crelin, monthly reports let them know what items have gone out, how much of each item has been used and who took it. All storeroom contents are entered into a single database that is accessible with Psion's WORKABOUT MX barcode scanner and updates the information in real time.

     "When I input the information, I give each item a minimum stock level in the closet," says Crelin. "When any item falls below that minimum level, it's indicated on a report and I call the vendor to order what I need. It keeps me from having to go to the shelf to figure out what we're low on. When I receive the items I've ordered, I scan the barcode and put them back into inventory. I've also started inputting medications and their expiration dates. The program flags me a month or two in advance to let me know what will be expiring so I have time to order a new supply. In the future, we'll include other items with expiration dates, like IV fluids and catheters, sterile gloves and airways."

     For now, Delray Beach has one central supply, and each station has a small supply room for items like Band-Aids and things they use more frequently, so units don't have to come to the main supply in the middle of the night to restock. All medications are locked up in the central supply closet. When a unit comes in to restock, crew members simply use a handheld scanner and computer in the storage room to scan out the items they're taking.

     In a fast-paced environment like EMS, organization and efficiency are critical. With the computer-based inventory-control system, EMS Delray Beach staff no longer worry about not being prepared.

To reach the complete solution provider, contact:

Jeff Siegel
National Technology Services, Inc.
888-HANDHELD (426-3435) Toll Free
jeff@n-t-s.com
www.n-t-s.com/wms.htm