Fully Stocked and No Waste for Less Money

Surgery teams need supplies but keeping track of inventory can prove difficult. The Ambulatory Surgery Recovery team at Moanalua Medical Center in Honolulu tracked its inventory on an 80-page clipboard. Pages would go missing, there was no centralized system and some items would be overstocked while others were in short supply. Team members decided to ditch the clipboard in favor of a computer spreadsheet, and more clearly labeled supplies and shelves. After three months, the team discovered about $10,000 in monthly savings by reducing duplicate and overstocked supplies.

Here's What Worked

• Creating computer spreadsheet to track inventory and order supplies
• Labeling shelves and supplies more clearly to reduce clutter
• Eliminating hoarding and rarely used supplies, and consolidating orders

What can your team do to harness the power of technology? What else could your team do to centralize information that is scattered?