Zebra Study

84% of U.S. and UK Hospital Leaders Prioritize Digitizing Inventory Management Solutions - Seite 2

“Hospital staff must be able to identify, track, and capture the location and status of critical resources in real time,” said Rikki Jennings, Vertical Industry Principal Lead, Zebra Technologies. “That's why we see rapid investment in locationing and automation solutions. Non-clinical hospital leaders working in new ways with technology behind the scenes can help improve the workflows of front-line clinicians and enhance the patient experience.”

Digitization of Inventory Management Helps Boost Efficiency and Patient Care

Hospital leaders have a significant impact on clinical staff and the delivery of patient care. They must ensure medical supplies, equipment, and medication are visible and accessible. Most (84%) hospital leaders acknowledge their role and responsibility in tracking and managing hospital inventory directly impacts patient safety.

A substantial nine in 10 hospital leaders agree it’s vital to track inventory in real time across categories including pharmaceuticals, consumable/medical supplies, sterile instruments, and implants. Over half of those surveyed believe real-time location systems (RTLS) and radio frequency identification (RFID) will improve inventory management. Nearly seven in 10 hospital leaders indicate they plan to deploy RFID (68%) and RTLS (69%) solutions within the next five years.

The Zebra study also confirmed that outdated or disparate inventory systems get in the way of accurately managing inventory. Four in 10 hospital leaders agree the most challenging workflows are manual cycle counting in clinical storerooms/wards, lack of real-time recording of supply use in surgical spaces, and order fulfillment/replenishment of items in central storerooms.

Hospitals leveraging technology and digitization can strengthen hospital workflows, benefiting physicians, nurses, support staff, and patients alike. Eight in 10 hospital leaders believe real-time location tracking is essential to optimal patient care. They also agree the combined use of RFID and barcode scanners to track and manage inventory would significantly help prevent and reduce medical errors.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adds More Inventory Visibility and Accuracy

Hospital leaders believe in the power of AI and analytics. In fact, eight in 10 say AI would improve inventory accuracy and visibility in their organizations. About seven in 10 agree predictive analytics (73%) and prescriptive analytics (65%) would also improve inventory management. AI analytics solutions can help forecast inventory needs using historical data to help make more informed and accurate decisions. Hospital leaders are expanding their implementation of AI solutions: three in 10 say they currently deploy AI, and six in 10 say they expect to deploy it over the next five years.