Authors (including presenting author) :
Yuen FYJ(1), Li MP(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Operating Theatre, PMH (2)IT, KWC
Introduction :
The management of stock inventory is essential to the timely delivery of safe and effective healthcare at the Operating theatre. Prior to the implementation of the electronic stock management system, OT staff of different specialties dedicated a lot of time to stock management by physically counting the stock level, checking the expiry date of consumables at irregular time slots. Such working processes are labour intensive, non-value added and inefficient. Implementation of this project allows staff efficient access to products and to deliver safe patient care in the right place, at the right time.
Objectives :
1. Reduce expired stock by 100 percent, by 30 June 2020
2. Improves patient safety by eliminating the risk of using expired stock
3. Reduce the time taken by nurses in stock management
4. Improve financial efficiency and space control by reducing excess and expired stock
Methodology :
The initial electronic stock management system was designed by PMH OT staff in Jan 2019 and was piloted for 6 months. Staff was able to streamline the checking process using an electronic scanning system and a bar-coded label printer. In June 2019, the team also consulted the KWC IT team for support and optimization of the system. With an enhanced system, staff could check the real-time data of stock levels (E.g. In/Out stock, model/log number, PO number and stock at hand), expiry date and utilization trend. A full evaluation of the project was performed in June 2020, measuring the amount of expired stock and slow-moving inventory.
Result & Outcome :
To date, the new electronic stock management system has been fully implemented at the Operating Theatre, with 100% of its stock managed under the new system. Under this new system, the amount of slow-moving inventory was reduced from 10% to 5% and the number of expired stocks was reduced by 100%. Ultimately, nurses were able to dedicate the time previously used for stock management to conduct lecture and audit to enhance staff knowledge and competency. Most importantly, the system benefits patients from providing sufficient consumables for use and improves patient safety by preventing the use of expired stock. Other stakeholders benefit from utilization trends analysis, streamlining of the product recall process, better budget and space control. Moving forward, the project was promulgated at the DOM & SNO Department Update meeting in Jan 2021. Attendees from other departments showed great interest in adopting this stock management system at their respective wards.
