Sutter Auburn Finds Prescription for Inventory Efficiency

Reorder alert, physical counts, and item usage reports prove invaluable

October 2009 -- As the manager of a cardiac cath lab that also serves as a vascular lab at Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital in Auburn, Calif., Bill Colditz has a responsibility to keep supply costs low while ensuring adequate inventory levels. This is a common theme across all clinical departments. Oftentimes proper inventory management is viewed only as a problem for large facilities but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

One vascular surgeon at Sutter Auburn conducts approximately 70% of the lab’s average of 40 procedures a month (primarily stenting of legs, kidneys, and subclavians). Because of this, physician preference in regard to stocking inventory is taken very seriously. With 30% of the department’s budget in cardiology, Colditz and his team manage an average of $400,000 in total supplies per month, with consigned items representing about 45% of their supplies.

To help manage the department’s clinical inventory, Colditz relies on SpaceTRAX, developed by Stanley InnerSpace of Grand Rapids, Mich. The three features Colditz relies on and appreciates the most are the reorder alert, reduction of physical counts, and item usage report. “We are using the system to strictly monitor inventory in and inventory out even though the system is capable of so much more,” says Colditz.

Reorder Alert: Every Thursday, Colditz orders supplies for the lab that is open four days a week. The reorder alert, which can be set to the department’s preferences, frees up time and resources by managing the reorder process. When once up to 35% of the lab’s supplies were shipped overnight and substantial charges for rush fees were accumulated; now the cardiac cath lab at Sutter Auburn typically receives just 5-10% of their inventory via overnight services.

Physical Counts: Also known as cycle counting, the lab physically counts high-dollar items stocked in quantity (stents and balloons) every two months instead of every week, thanks to the dependability of SpaceTRAX. This is a true time and resource savings. “The system helps me separate what I own versus what is consigned. I’ve worked at other facilities where we relied on manual counts and it takes you over eight hours with two people, and then time to tabulate all of the information,” Colditz says. “With this system, you can pull the report up, spot check it, and feel very comfortable that you have a good listing of what is owned in dollars and what is consigned on your shelf.”

Item Usage Reports: Recently, Colditz ran an item usage report and found that no more than two of a specific stent had been used in a six-month time frame. With evidence in hand, Colditz asked the physician for approval to pull that item off the shelf. While the physician appreciated having the item on hand, he quickly realized that it wasn’t a necessity. Colditz then had “ammunition to go back to the vendor and remove the item” from their inventory.

Additional benefits of the inventory system includes knowing instantaneously the value of the inventory within the department and knowing what items are scheduled to expire and when. Colditz explained that “the monthly expiration report helps with The Joint Commission” by ensuring that their department is void of any expired items.