In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and healthcare facilities became acutely aware of the need for tighter asset tracking to make the most out of their spend management program.
Between supply chain shortages and greater demands for patient care, managing the conditions of use and deployment for equipment such as ventilators, hospital beds, and IVs meant life or death for some individuals. However, healthcare facilities and hospitals deal with a revolving number of patients and many employees, making asset management difficult at best.
A modern approach to asset tracking can solve the problems caused by outdated solutions and streamline a facility’s approach to patient care. These solutions, known collectively as an asset management program (AMP), can also eliminate procurement waste and relocate resources to areas of high need.
The Need for Healthcare Data
Procurement leaders and asset managers face a challenge even in the best of times: they must predict what assets are about to fail, what assets are depreciating, and how much to order to meet the needs of present and future patients.
Locating every asset regularly can be overwhelming and often lead to inaccurate facilities and equipment management. Without accurate, continuous data tracking, procurement departments will face the following problems:
Overspending
Hospitals and healthcare facilities lose billions every year in over-procurement. A recent study found that hospitals waste more than $25 billion a year on the supply chain, money that could be better directed to patient care and the current talent shortage in the healthcare industry. Procurement leaders cannot predict how much their facility needs at one time. Last-minute purchases can also be expensive for a facility and lead to higher capital expenditures.
Outdated Equipment & Methodology
Healthcare facilities must constantly update their technology and equipment to maintain cybersecurity, ensure proper patient care, and enhance efficiency so that even more patients can receive support. However, without the necessary data, transitions to better methods become complicated, expensive, and result in assets left behind.
Loss & Mismanagement
Without asset tracking and data, it becomes impossible to determine asset utilization. Employee mismanagement, theft, fraud, and other problems go unnoticed when your assets department spends more time trying to track down items.
With the existing shortages in talent in the supply chain and healthcare industries, your facility needs to prioritize its employees and strategize where to place them.
A Solution to All Three Problems: An Asset Management Program
An asset management program can give your assets team full transparency with radio frequency identification tags (RFID) to maximize asset utilization, lower procurement costs, and enhance overall patient care.
A program that provides RFID can help hospital employees understand where their assets have been deployed and what their condition of use may be, which can help them predict how many more they need and what needs maintenance. Post-pandemic, strategic use of already-owned assets can save a healthcare facility both time and money since a high cost-to-serve means fewer patients receive the care they deserve.
Asset management programs like the Joerns Connexio™ proprietary connected care solution can extend the lifespan of an asset and reduce the total cost of ownership overall. These AMPs can improve a facility’s measurable ROI by making more efficient improvements, updates, and predictions. With automated decision-making fueled by transparent, accurate data, healthcare providers can spend more time improving patient care and less time on equipment management.
Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) assist in maintenance, facilities management, and asset tracking. Make the most out of your assets and improve your spend management program with an RTLS provided by Joerns Healthcare and CenTrack®.
