Asset Management Software Applications Provide Lifeline for Healthcare

Once you step into any medical office, you’re often struck by the sophistication and complexity of the equipment. Healthcare institutions make huge investments in technology designed to improve patient outcomes. Asset management software applications can help hospitals track and manage these vital assets throughout their entire lifespans.

These apps also enable healthcare organizations to stay on top of critical maintenance and updates, which are imperative for maximizing the useful life of equipment. Without an automated means of tracking and reminding, busy hospitals are likely to overlook maintenance. Equipment then slows down or breaks down and causes disruption of service.

Supply Cost Reduction is a Pressing Issue

It’s mind-boggling to consider the volume of equipment, tools, medications, and supplies stocked by your average hospital. A report issued by 3M, “Supply Standardization: The Clinical and Economic Benefits of Reducing Waste in the Supply Chain,” quantifies it. According to 3M, the average hospital has between 6,000 to 8,000 stock keeping units, or SKUs, on site but may actually carry as many as 35,000 SKUs on the books at any given time. By 2020, some experts estimate that medical supplies will surpass labor as the biggest expense for hospitals and healthcare systems. Healthcare executives, then, are looking at ways to keep their supply costs under control.

Inventory Tracking: Maintaining the Fine Balance

Within every healthcare organization is an individual (or, more likely, a team) responsible for keeping track of inventory and placing orders when it’s time for a restock. It’s a fine line between ordering too much or not enough. While no hospital wants supplies to be sitting on the shelf unused, they can’t run the risk of running out when patients are in need. Asset management software applications enable healthcare institutions to set up customized alerts when inventory falls below a pre-determined threshold.

Medicines, blood bank reserves and other perishables carry the additional concern of expiration, making a reliable and real-time tracking system a non-negotiable for patient safety. Many hospitals also don’t have a reliable system for tracking the fulfillment of last-minute orders from doctors and nurses. Attempting to manage those orders manually is a surefire recipe for mistakes and oversight. Asset management software applications enable hospitals to outsource that function with peace of mind.

Planning for the Unexpected

When emergencies happen, nurses and doctors have to know, within a moment’s notice, the exact location of all equipment and tools. Asset management software applications work in conjunction with unique barcodes that track down items in seconds, eliminating delays, frustration and most important, patient risk. Items may be tracked by location, department, employee and/or other categories determined by the administrator.

For any given piece of equipment, users should be able to quickly access its warranty information, insurance policy, lease or purchase information, and complete maintenance history, along with its value for accounting purposes.

Asset management software applications are working in conjunction with mobile devices so that users have easy access to their equipment data 24 hours a day.

A Competitive Advantage

While patient safety and outcomes are the priority, hospitals are in an extremely competitive business. The efficient management of resources curbs waste and protect the bottom line. Asset Panda’s asset management software is not only simple to use, but it also integrates with your current systems. Completely customizable and hosted in the cloud, Asset Panda gives you 24/7 access to real-time data, and all from your smartphone or tablet.