Benefits of IoT Inventory Management Software for the Hospitals

Delay in receiving clothes, furniture, cosmetics, or even groceries can be manageable. However, delay in receiving the right medicines or medical equipment can be life threatening.

Even today, hospitals are struggling to manage inventory which results in unexpected equipment failure, downtime, and inconvenience. To deal with this, the healthcare industry requires a smart inventory solution that can fix inventory issues in the early stages.

However, the healthcare industry’s requirements can be best met by using an IoT- driven inventory software. IoT inventory management software comes with embedded sensors and device functionality that collects real- time inventory data, both at rest and in transit.

Let’s see how the IoT driven inventory management software works, and how it benefits hospitals to manage their inventory efficiently.

What is IoT Driven Inventory Management Software?

IoT or the Internet of Things refers to a collective network of devices that are connected and an advanced technology that enables real-time communication among the devices, sensors, and the cloud. This reflects real-time data that is collected by sensors on your software.

The IoT based inventory management solutions come with an embedded device and sensor functionality that centralizes hospital data to offer quick access to information like inventory levels or location, collect data on hospital inventory, and more to perform smart actions. It helps healthcare institutions to detect inventory issues and correct them in the early stages only.

Moreover, by using an IoT inventory solution, hospitals can monitor an asset’s location, provide live data of goods and shipments by tagging them with IoT devices, and fetch information on medicines and medical equipment. This further helps hospitals in managing supply chains and hospital planning.

Case Study of a Large Cancer Hospital & Research Center Challenges Faced by the Hospital: The supply chain of the hospital was inefficient. The inventory was only done through barcoding which was inefficient in providing real-time visibility into inventory levels. In fact, the cancer center’s costs started increasing due to increased inventory wastage, inadequate security for expensive inventory, and frequent expiration of medicines. Impact After Implementing an IoT- based Inventory Management Software: To deal with inventory-related challenges, the hospital decided to switch to inventory software that was integrated with RFID technology. The hospital’s carts, cabinets, shelves, etc., were connected to RFID readers that helped in getting the exact inventory location. With accurate inventory visibility, the hospital reduced wastage and optimized the overall cost. In fact, they were even able to automatically generate purchase orders and reorders to maintain optimum inventory levels.

Major Benefits of IoT Driven Inventory Management Software in the Healthcare Sector

Using IoT-driven inventory management software, hospitals can accurately track their medical inventory, avoid stockouts, inspect the equipment, detect expired medicines, and more. Moreover, the inventory software’s integrations save time by automating manual tasks like bill generation, expense calculation, and more.

• Easily Access Medical Equipment through Accurate Inventory Tracking

Using the RFID, Radio Frequency Identification technology, hospitals don’t need to waste their time in inventory tracking. You can tag the medical equipment with RFID readers and use them to locate where the equipment actually is.

It gives precise and real-time information about whether inventory is on any floor, or inside any drug department. This saves the hospital staff’s time, especially during emergencies.

• Authorized Access to Handle Hospital Inventory Data

The IoT-featured inventory software comes with smart controlling that provides customized access to the details of different medical equipment, material, and drugs. This not only creates secure access to medical inventory but also ensures that medical help reaches the right department on time.

In addition to this, the custom permission functionality for document management ensures that hospital data and reports are securely shared with different departments. This protects the hospitals from any data breach.

• Avoid Medical Stockouts with Sensor Operations

Stockouts in a hospital can be life-threatening. However, this can be avoided using the IoT- based weight sensors that are placed near the medical equipment or medicines. These smart sensors give you the count of currently available items on the shelves and eventually help you know which items have reached the minimum quantity level.

As soon as any item reaches a minimum level, you can send restock requests directly from the inventory software and avoid any shortages. Sensor technology is popularly used in the pharma industry to get real-time inventory data.

• Regularly Inspect Medicines & Equipment for Best Patient Care

Maintaining the count of medical inventory will not be enough, hospitals need to monitor the inventory condition as well to ensure optimum patient care. IoT-driven inventory management software also comes with inventory assessment functionality that inspects the current condition of your hospital machines and medical equipment. This in return increases their working efficiency and lifespan.

In addition to this, the hospital inventory software also allows users to set alerts for equipment maintenance and service.

• Live Medical Shipment Tracking

An IoT-driven inventory management software labels every medical shipment with RFID tags that help you know how and when the equipment is moving from one place to another. Further, this helps healthcare institutions estimate the delivery time for medicines and hospital equipment.

Moreover, in-case of offline and online pharmacies, medicines and equipment can be tracked in real- time while moving from the warehouse to the store or delivery location.

• Detect and Get Rid of Expired Medicines

Inventory management software digitally collects data about medicines that includes their components, storage location, batch number, manufacturing date, along with expiry date. While managing a ton of medicines, it is manually not possible for your hospital to keep a tab of expired medicines and discard them. But with inventory software, you can quickly pull a report for expired medicines using custom filters.

• Automate Manual Tasks

Along with tracking and managing medical equipment, the inventory management system supports the integration of accounting and billing software. These integrations enable hospitals to automate several other manual tasks like generating and calculating patient bills, giving prescriptions for available medicines, etc.

In fact, with the inventory system, you can also calculate the hospital’s expenses on medicines and machinery without struggling with multiple spreadsheets.

Suggested Read: Top 10 Free Inventory Management Software for Your Growing Business

• Minimize Inventory Losses

Overall, the IoT- driven inventory software will help reduce inventory-related losses. For instance, you would know which equipment needs repairing or maintenance checks and which medicines are about to expire. These clear insights into inventory data will keep you informed and help you reduce losses.

• Effectively Manage Pharma Supplies & Vendors

You can manage multiple pharma vendors and suppliers for renewing contracts, placing reorders, or simply just communicating. The software enables your hospital staff to instantly place reorders without any delay, and even your vendor is accurately informed about the order, reducing the chances of any miscommunication. Moreover, it also helps in maintaining clear communication and relations with the vendor.

Conclusion

Efficient inventory management can make the functioning of hospitals smoother and enable better patient care. When powered by IoT, inventory software can make inventory tracking convenient. As a result, hospitals can restock on time, maintain minimum inventory levels, and discard expiry products to ensure adequate medical supplies.

Related Categories: Inventory Control Software | Warehouse Management Software |
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