Have you ever had an important discussion with someone who only sort of speaks your language? You can communicate well enough to get by, but because the information at the foundation of your conversation doesn’t quite match, the conversation goes nowhere.

A similar situation occurs every day in hospitals, where supply chain professionals who are responsible for ordering supplies and stocking shelves attempt to communicate with clinical staff who use these products with patients every day. Each group believes they have the best understanding of what is being used and the inventory levels required for their area. But they approach the question from different directions and without a common set of data to inform their perspectives. In short, they have encountered a data divide.

An inventory management system should provide a common data set that will support a productive dialogue between supply chain professionals and clinicians. JumpStock from Jump Technologies helps bridge this data divide with reports that allow supply chain and clinical staff to develop a common understanding of inventory across their hospital or health system. For example, key reports include:

• PAR Calculator Report. The JumpStock PAR Calculator Report recommends a PAR level based on the velocity of items used during a specific period, how many days worth of inventory the hospital wants to keep on hand, and the time it takes for those items to be delivered.
• 2Bin Reorder Quantity Report. This report reflects the velocity at which items are being used in a Kanban inventory system and recommends a reorder quantity based on how frequently empty bins are scanned.
• Days of Supply Report. This color-coded report helps hospital staff see which items are being used faster than expected, slower than expected, or at the rate expected. Items shown in red are going faster than expected and are stocking out and should be reordered; items in green are performing as planned; and items in yellow are going slower than planned and can be removed, reduced or consolidated and relocated.

All three reports provide real-world, real-time information and help hospital staff establish PAR levels based on actual supply use across their facilities. This eliminates ambiguity from discussions about inventory management, bridges the data divide that exists between supply chain and clinicians, and establishes a common language for informed decision making.

Contact me to discuss how the data divide is impacting your hospital supply chain:  jfreund@jumptech.com.