Indenting And maintenance of Inventory

By:Mr. M. Shivanandha Reddy

• Nurses are expected to maintain adequate supply of equipments, supplies and the medicines in order to give quality service to patients.

• The nurse should ensure and control the right supply, at the right place and in the right quantity.

Indent Definition:• An indent is an official order or requisition for

medicine and supplies from the medical stores.• The nurse acquires the equipment and supplies

based on the need estimation, availability and the budget.

• As the equipment is received it should be inspected and stored as per the classification and according to the rate of consumption.

• Always ensure that there is a buffer stock.• Preventive maintenance has to be carried out

through service contracts.• Proper cleaning and making repairs has to be

done and the equipment stored safely.

Inventory

• An inventory is a detailed list of articles in the ward, their specifications, standard number or quality.

• When we are speaking of inventory means it meant making a count of articles in hand.

Purpose of maintaining inventory:

• To ensure the availability of the item• Provides chance to determine the condition of

articles• Time to return the articles to their proper

place

• Inventory of some articles maintained daily, for some other things it may require weekly where as for some others only monthly inventory is adequate.

Methods of inventory control:

• Visual control method• ABC ANALYSIS• VED Classification• Two bin system.

Visual control method

• It is the simplest method, where you assess what you have on hand and decide what to get.

ABC ANALYSIS(ABC = Always Better Control)

• This is based on cost criteria.

• About 10 % of materials consume 70 % of total

cost

• About 20 % of materials consume 20 % of total

cost

• About 70 % of materials consume 10 % of total

cost.

• ‘A’ ITEMS– Small in number, but consume large amount of

resources– Must have:

• Tight control• Strict & closer watch• Low extra stocks• Managed by top management

• ‘B’ ITEM• Intermediate control• Must have:

• Moderate control• Reasonably strict watch & control• Moderate safety stocks• Managed by middle level management

• ‘C’ ITEMS• Larger in number, but consume lesser

amount of resources• Must have:

• Ordinary control measures• Purchase based on usage estimates• High safety stocks.

VED ANALYSIS•Based on critical value of an item•Items are classified into:•Vital:•Shortage cannot be tolerated.•Essential:•Shortage can be tolerated for a short period.•Desirable: Shortage will not adversely affect, but may be using

more resources. These must be strictly Scrutinized

Two bin system:

• There is a main bin and a backup bin of products.

• Use the products from the main bin first, before using the back up bin indent for the product.