The Surgery Center of Fairbanks (SCF) was recently recognized with the 2019 Best Practice Award Q2. The honor, given by Inventory Optimization Solutions (IOS), recognized the Center’s exceptional capabilities in streamlining processes to optimize inventory and reduce cost, tackling such issues as management of physical counting, labelling and organization of storage areas and unit of measure. Organizations demonstrating supply chain excellence are selected and recognized quarterly.
When Jamie Conant, BSN, RN, CPAN, CAPA, the Center’s administrator took the role, she and her colleagues identified areas where supply chain systems and processes could be improved. The goals were to address:
– Overstocked inventory
– Inaccurate counts of on-hand supplies
– Par levels in need of adjustment
– Items without locations assigned
– Inaccurate prices in our system
– Large scale inaccuracies in unit of measure
– Locations in system to identify items on the shelves
“We wanted to improve physical inventory by reducing the number of items we were stocking,” said Conant. “We needed to establish a more accurate baseline of our on-hand items and reset par levels. To do this, we planned a number of improvements. We addressed a number of challenges related to unit of measure, set up our systems to ensure accurate pricing, worked to improve the layout and labelling of our physical locations and identification of items on shelves. Today, our team works collaboratively to quickly identify and manage any supply chain issues in a proactive manner.” To ensure ongoing accuracy, Conant leads a daily 5-minute huddle to ensure everyone works together to minimize stock on hand, while running a highly-efficient center. “These things all help The Surgery Center of Fairbanks stay streamlined, accurate and driving toward cost reductions,” Conant comments. “Our team is proud to deliver care with the highest levels of efficiency and quality with full dedication to our patients.”
As a result, The Surgery Center of Fairbanks reduced inventory, improved price accuracy and ability to negotiate pricing, manage on-hand inventory more efficiently and cost-effectively, maintain data as related to unit of measure, and conduct quarterly inventories to ensure accurate physical counts and par levels.
The SCF team has also successfully leveraged a materials management information system for improvements throughout the procurement process. “Now, it’s easy to find an item anywhere in our system, count and inventory it. In fact, our team reduced on-hand inventory by almost a quarter of a million dollars in the first quarter of 2019.”
“The Surgery Center of Fairbanks is actively measuring impressive results, demonstrating what an ambulatory surgical center (ASC) can achieve through process improvement and proactive supply chain management,” said Steve Britt, President, IOS. “We’ve seen such a commitment to excellence from their team and we’re thrilled with the results they’ve attained. ASCs everywhere are looking for ways to deliver the highest quality patient care at the best possible prices, and The Surgery Center of Fairbanks is an exceptional example of how to leverage supply chain to make that possible.”
