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Using yesterdays approach to inventory management and supply and logistics is no longer an acceptable practice 1.

Having a reliable, effective and efficient inventory management system can help an organization reduce costs, limit waste, improve employee relations and limit liability.

It can also positively impact patient care by having the right supplies and drugs available when needed 1.

Increasingly, public-sector EMS agencies are seeing a similar need as their local funding from government or donations from stakeholders have declined or remained stagnant.

The trend in local governments is for transparency and accountability to show taxpayers where and how their money is being spent 1.

The health care environment is rapidly changing with reduced reimbursements, new government regulations and an increased focus on compliance.

This added complexity makes managing billing and coding in house much more challenging 2.

Resale of narcotics is not limited to common street crime but also can involve Medicare fraud, theft from other providers, organized crime and a host of other crimes 4.

The three variables are replenishment of warehouse or central inventory, documented usage, and replenishment of in-station or in-ambulance inventory.

Depletion of inventory is fairly predictable over time and can therefore be forecast as well 5.

Use percentages because in drug inventories, units may not raise a flag 5.

A barcode-based system streamlines the process by enabling an agency to track the life-cycle of any item: from the initial receipt of an item at the warehouse; the distribution of the item into the supply chain such as sending it to a specific EMS station; use of the item for patient care.

Key inventory management and control functions that lend themselves to barcoding include 5.

Track a variety of standard stock inventory like bandages, gauze, and more.

Having an accurate picture for medication ins and outs, as well as on-hand quantity and reorder levels, can ensure that each EMS vehicle has the right medication inventory on board when an emergency strikes.

Keeping medications under lock and key is an inventory security control measure for sure, but its not an effective strategy for managing and controlling how those medications are used.

This prevents someone from making false transactions or supervisors or managers having to make sense of illegible paper signatures.

For added speed and security the biometric reader can also be used to login to inventory control software.

One example is performing vehicle inspections with an electronic check sheet.

If the inspection check sheet is integrated with inventory management and fleet maintenance software it can greatly enhance an agencys operational intelligence.

By replacing time-consuming paper check sheets crew members can be more accountable for supplies and equipment.

Microguru Basic Inventory Control