# Pharmaceutical and Hospital Inventory



## ucapit (Feb 21, 2013)

How do you organize EMT supplies? From keep up with hospital inventory, to maintaining expiration dates on pharmaceutical supplies. Would a vending machine help with restocking? Which systems have you found useful?


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## Veneficus (Feb 21, 2013)

Most places I have been have found great results from hiring a person whos responsibility is to manage inventory full time.


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## Bullets (Feb 21, 2013)

Obviously local BLS is responsible for their own supplies.  The hospital has a cage where they put the backboards, splints and other stuff sorted geographically. 

ALS has a cabinet in their office and a courier who delivers supplies as need. Medics are responsible to do inventory of the cabinet and truck at the beginning of every shift


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## medicdan (Feb 21, 2013)

ucapit said:


> How do you organize EMT supplies? From keep up with hospital inventory, to maintaining expiration dates on pharmaceutical supplies. Would a vending machine help with restocking? Which systems have you found useful?



WHen I was responsible for it, I just kept lists. Cabinets are organized, and par levels clear (min acceptable quantity to keep on hand). I ordered from our supplier when necessary, kept an eye on supplies, and ask crews to let me know when they used a low-par item, so I could reorder. In-service medication expiration dates are checked daily by crews, and backup (restock) meds are checked monthly on the first. 
I limited who had access to my supply cabinets, and they could only access certain quantities. We were a small enough service, that I could track who used what, and when, but that took monitoring...


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## Handsome Robb (Feb 22, 2013)

Our logistics department handles that. 

I am required to do an inventory of my first out, airway and ALS airway bags once a month and to replace anything expired. Stock-wise it's always fine because I either work out of supplies on the truck or restock my bag with whatever was used right after the call. I don't rely on my partner to do it, even though she always does cause she's awesome. In the end they're my bags, my responsibility. 

I believe they use a program called Ambutrak for inventory. Well at least to keep track of laptops, radios, GPSs, monitors and pumps (for CCPs) when we check gear in and out. Pretty sure it does our inventory too though.

The company I work for uses "speed loading" to stock rigs. As long as the VST who put the containers together didn't have their head up their *** it works fantastically. Only issue I have is every VST puts stuff in the containers differently. Every container has the same stuff in the same spot on every ambulance. The organization of the supplies in the container is what tends to vary.


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