Like solving a Rubik’s Cube or finishing a 10,000-piece puzzle, hospital PPE inventory management takes a special kind of brain. You’ve got to track suppliers, monitor (and make miracles with) budgets, match your facility needs with the right supplies, and make sure the right PPE is stocked and stored in all the right places.
It would be a lot for anyone, and that’s before you start fighting supply shortages, supply chain breaks, and tariff troubles.
The big challenges in PPE procurement generally boil down to inventory accuracy, cost management, and supplier management. Managed badly, your hospital will face overspending, inefficient supply use, and safety risks to both healthcare staff and patients.
Let’s take a quick look at the facts behind these challenges and talk about three ways to simplify your procurement process: adopting fewer SKUs without sacrificing protection, implementing single-patient transfer sheets to cut down on waste, and collaborating with North American manufacturers to right-size your safety supply.
The 3 Big Challenges in PPE Inventory Management
Managing personal protective equipment (PPE) in hospitals is often a balancing act. You need to make sure there’s enough stock on hand, plus a safety stock for surges, and that the items in stock are used correctly to minimize wastage.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the procurement process has become even more complicated. Hospital systems face a variety of obstacles, from ensuring inventory accuracy to managing costs and dealing with suppliers.
Inventory Accuracy
Inventory accuracy is step one in PPE inventory management. You already know that having , stocked in the right places, matched to the type of procedures each floor or facility performs, is job number one for hospital procurement managers.
You need to know exactly what you have in storage to plan and purchase effectively. Miscounts and waste can lead to shortages of essential items like disposable coveralls and surgical PPE. This problem may cause patient care to suffer or create emergency procurement situations – usually at great expense to your health system.
Hospitals need reliable systems to keep track of their stock levels at all times. Inaccurate data can stem from human error, lack of technology, or disorganized warehouses. Purchasing managers in healthcare settings want to be well-prepared against unforeseen supply shortages, and tracking stock is the best way to start.
Cost Management
Hand in hand with inventory management comes cost management. All hospital systems and surgical centers operate on a budget, and PPE is a line item on every procurement department’s list. With funding uncertainties in the air, controlling costs will help your hospital treat more patients and stay financially stable.
Cost management is, of course, easier said than done. Demand for PPE, like disposable medical protective clothing, often fluctuates throughout the year. Some fluctuations are predictable: elective surgeries, for example, always skyrocket in November and December, as insured patients try to use up their FSA funds.
Other fluctuations are harder to forecast. Even the NIH finds it difficult to advise hospital systems on safety supply or stockpile guidelines. What they can say is something every procurement manager already knows: during outbreaks, your staff will use more PPE, and it’s an investment worth making. The relatively low cost per unit of medical PPE is a far cry more affordable than staff sickouts, patient outbreaks, and the overall burden of illness.
A recent systematic review explored resource use as well as the economic implications (e.g. total cost and cost–effectiveness ratios) associated with physical barriers (e.g. masks, gowns and gloves) to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses (207). The researchers concluded that, while the use of physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses increases during epidemics and pandemics, PPEs appear to be an economically attractive option in reducing the burden of illness associated with respiratory viruses, due to the relatively low costs of these interventions.
Cost and supply chain management are tricky when it comes to budgeting for medical supplies. Price changes, especially surge pricing during outbreaks or pandemics, can lead to overspending. Hospitals often face trade-offs between buying in bulk for discounts and minimizing storage costs. Balancing these aspects is crucial to maintaining financial health and ensuring regulatory compliance. When costs rise unexpectedly, hospitals may struggle to get enough PPE without going over budget.
Supplier Management
Supplier management is another significant challenge for hospitals when it comes to PPE inventory management. You need to find reliable partners who operate on a stable supply chain to ensure the steady flow of your medical PPE.
Unfortunately, supply chain disruptions can affect even the best-laid plans. During crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, many suppliers could not meet surging demand. Hospitals need strategies for supplier management and crisis capacity while dealing with supply shortages.
Managing relationships with suppliers is not just about keeping stock available; it also involves ensuring quality and meeting regulatory standards. This is particularly important because regulatory compliance can affect the overall reputation and operations of healthcare systems.
3 Ways to Simplify Your Surgical PPE Procurement Process
With all those challenges clamoring for your attention every day, managing your medical supply and PPE inventory can seem overwhelming. There’s a reason it’s a full-time job!
The right strategies can help you simplify the process and make sure that your staff and patients are always protected. Choosing the right items and suppliers is key, and it can help you keep your costs in check.
Streamlining product choices, optimizing storage, and selecting reliable manufacturers are just a few strategies that can help you make sure your hospital system is well-prepared for any challenges, including times of crisis.
Manage Fewer SKUs: Try One-Size PPE
Using one-size-fits-all PPE options can greatly simplify your PPE inventory management. When you have fewer SKUs, it’s easier to keep track of orders and stock levels.
Surgical PPE, like disposable medical coveralls, can come in expandable one-size options that fit all staff. You order and manage one SKU for each item, and your entire staff can use the same:
- Knee-Highs
- Jumpsuits
- Leggings
- Pant Protectors
- Shoe Covers
- Aprons
Reducing the number of different items to manage means less time spent tracking, monitoring, and ordering – and more space saved in your stock rooms. One-size options make it easier to maintain proper stock levels.
Save Storage: Single-Patient Transfer Sheets
Switching to single-patient slide sheets offers an efficient way to maximize storage space throughout your hospital system.
Unlike bulky, rigid transfer boards, these single-patient slide sheets are light and can be stored conveniently. They often come in wall dispensers that can hang directly in procedure rooms, allowing supply areas to remain tidy and making space for other PPE.
Plus, single-patient transfer sheets don’t require cleaning. They stay with the same patient throughout their care, from bed to operating room and back again, before being disposed of.
This keeps contagions off your surfaces and staff, and that means you won’t need as many cleaning supplies – specifically those used to sanitize rigid patient transfer boards. This change maximizes storage room and reduces reliance on additional products.
This switch further reduces the number of SKUs you have to manage, reduces your cleaning supply budget, and makes it a bit easier to manage your inventory and storage needs.
Optimize Safety Stock: Use North American Manufacturers
Safety stock is crucial in hospital PPE inventory. Also called surge supply, it’s the extra supply kept by hospital systems to prevent PPE and equipment shortages during disruptions, outbreaks, or surges.
Choosing North American manufacturers can help you optimize your safety stock needs. While some overstock is necessary (and smart) when you use a stable, local supply chain for your essentials, you need fewer items on hand.
Your local supply chain is simply more stable and less prone to delays. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sloan Medical kept the hospital systems we serve fully stocked without disruptions, surge pricing, or causing them to search for other PPE solutions. Our supply chain is entirely within North America, and it’s headquartered in the United States for maximum stability. Recent tariff changes should make North American suppliers even more appealing simply for pricing stability.
By keeping just enough stock based on demand, hospitals can stay ready for any situation and maintain their budget. Stay ahead of a crisis with these three tips:
- Conduct Regular Inventory Audits: Ensure accuracy in stock levels.
- Monitor Expiration Dates: Avoid waste due to outdated supplies.
- Develop a Crisis Plan: Prepare for supply chain disruptions or communicate with your North American supplier to make sure they have a crisis plan in place for you.
By choosing manufacturers with a North American supply chain, procurement managers can maintain a reliable PPE supply and reduce the need for extreme amounts of safety stock, making inventory management that much easier.
Reduce Supply Room Overload to Save Time and Budget
Proper inventory management helps reduce supply shortages and saves time and money. It’s essential to monitor stock levels of items like disposable coveralls, medical protective clothing, and surgical PPE. Regular checks prevent stock from expiring and ensure compliance with regulatory standards. Healthcare facilities must balance PPE procurement with supply chain management to avoid overload in supply rooms. This involves streamlining warehouse management and making the best use of storage space.
Like snapping the last bit of that 10,000-piece puzzle into place, procurement managers with a solid inventory management plan can sit back and feel a sense of real accomplishment. We hope the tips in this article help you get there faster!If you’re ready to kick off a trial run of one-size-fits-all PPE or single-patient transfer sheets for your hospital system, clinic, or surgical center, we’ll help you do it for free! Order a free sample pack of Sloan Medical PPE and put it to the test.
