National Heart Center of the Royal Hospital (Oman) becomes a darling among Middle East countries for its inventory system (World Hospital Congress presentation series)

Jamila Humaid Al Saidi, head of the cardiac catheterization laboratory department at the National Heart Center (NHC) of the Royal Hospital in Oman, presented her scientific poster at the 43^rd World Hospital Congress (Oman), which won the Best Poster Award.

Manual tracking of cardiovascular surgical items inventory in cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology laboratories, as well as in the operating rooms is a tedious and time-consuming process. Managing the supply chain in a cardiac catheterization laboratory, which represents high-volume and high-value procedures, poses a significant opportunity for cost savings and quality improvement. Inventory Management at the NHC focuses specifically on tracking cardiovascular surgical items inventory using bar-coding in a busy five-room cardiac catheterization laboratory in a tertiary cardiac care center.
A bar-code scanning-based inventory management system was introduced for tracking surgical items inventory. The ordering process for non-available items was mapped. In addition, 5S lean method was implemented in 17 storage areas.

The bar-code system reduced wastage due to procedure cancellation rate from 20% to 0%. This system helped in improving environmental efficiency and quality with better time management. Mapping the ordering process for non-formulary items reduced the number of steps from 75 to 45 steps, which resulted in a reduction in lead time by 50% from 6 months to 3 months.
Further, the application of 5S lean method to 17 areas, reduced wastage due to expiry to 0%. More than 25,000 USD was saved during the first month of implementation, with work in progress. The staff satisfaction rate improved more than 90%. There was a reduction in procedure time by 30% in the catheterization laboratory. The prescription preparation time in the pharmacy was reduced by 50%. The time wasted in searching for items declined by 80%.

The 44^th World Hospital Congress invites authors of research works, case studies, and innovative health projects, like the National Heart Center’s bar code scanning-based inventory management system, to submit abstracts for consideration to this year’s congress in Barcelona on 2 to 5 November, 2020.
Presentations, lectures as well as scientific posters will revolve around the theme People on board, transforming healthcare (Future is now). The call for abstracts welcomes topics touching on the following sub-themes:

• Digital and technology driven transformations
• Towards an integrated concept of health and care services model: value driven transformations
• People at the center of healthcare system transformations