Last week, the healthcare IT blog HIStalk ("HIS" = health information systems, not a blog only for men) commented on a story from The Miami Herald about missing inventory. Without clicking on these links, one may think that the missing inventory might have only been a few office supplies in a medical records office. On the contrary, the University of Miami experienced $14 million in medicine/drug inventory shrinkage. $14 million!!!
Surely, tracking inventory can be very expensive financially and very costly timewise. Whether a system runs on manual data entry (written, typed), UPC barcodes, RFID, GPS, or other methods & technologies, the actions needed to keep an active, accurate count can be difficult and disruptive. Furthermore, both human errors and system errors occur, resulting in discrepancies--miscounts, mispicks, incorrect valuation, etc. Perfection is something to strive for, not something that is--inventory management is no exception.
Still, the case of potential theft at the University of Miami Cancer Center pharmacy demonstrates how easily inventory can disappear without being noticed. In this case, the university and the cancer center have been able to continue operations. However, inventory shrinkage problems can be the undoing of any business--numerous retail stores have been forced to close due to issues such as this. While some people may laugh at others who are focused on keeping track of everything, $14 million worth of missing goods is no laughing matter.
Should people, systems, processes, or a combination of all three be blamed for problems like the ones at the UM Cancer Center pharmacy? Whether manual or automatic, handwritten or computerized, the inventory losses occurred. Trustworthy employees, reliable computers, and reasonable processes can all help the cause of steady inventory management. Yet, what often gets overlooked is the concept that steady inventory management does not start with any of these three valuable assets or concepts; rather, steady inventory management starts with the desire to keep track of inventory. Without the desire, even the most trustworthy employees, reliable computers, and reasonable processes will fail to keep accurate inventory records.
Surely, tracking inventory can be very expensive financially and very costly timewise. Whether a system runs on manual data entry (written, typed), UPC barcodes, RFID, GPS, or other methods & technologies, the actions needed to keep an active, accurate count can be difficult and disruptive. Furthermore, both human errors and system errors occur, resulting in discrepancies--miscounts, mispicks, incorrect valuation, etc. Perfection is something to strive for, not something that is--inventory management is no exception.
Still, the case of potential theft at the University of Miami Cancer Center pharmacy demonstrates how easily inventory can disappear without being noticed. In this case, the university and the cancer center have been able to continue operations. However, inventory shrinkage problems can be the undoing of any business--numerous retail stores have been forced to close due to issues such as this. While some people may laugh at others who are focused on keeping track of everything, $14 million worth of missing goods is no laughing matter.
Should people, systems, processes, or a combination of all three be blamed for problems like the ones at the UM Cancer Center pharmacy? Whether manual or automatic, handwritten or computerized, the inventory losses occurred. Trustworthy employees, reliable computers, and reasonable processes can all help the cause of steady inventory management. Yet, what often gets overlooked is the concept that steady inventory management does not start with any of these three valuable assets or concepts; rather, steady inventory management starts with the desire to keep track of inventory. Without the desire, even the most trustworthy employees, reliable computers, and reasonable processes will fail to keep accurate inventory records.