61% CVD rate by 2050! Is Your Cath Lab Ready?

Research published in American Heart Association journal, Circulation, predicts that over 61% of the US population will have cardiovascular disease (CVD) by 2050.

With a huge projected rise of CVD cases, can your Cath labs handle increased demand? It’s time to tackle Cath lab inefficiencies and prepare for the predicted CVD surge.

One simple way to improve cardiac catheterization and cardiovascular procedure room efficiency is to use technology to automatically oversee the inventory.

Common inventory management challenges

Managed by nurses or surgical techs, Cath lab inventory management is a complex task that is often rushed and inefficient due outdated systems, plus staffing and time pressures. The result is significant wastage, inflated costs and the risk of crucial supplies being missing when required.

The financial cost:

From talking to customers, we hear that Catheterization labs typically struggle with:

• 25-30% excess inventory
• 7-10% wastage due to loss/expiry

The human cost:

Inefficient inventory processes also have an impact on patient care. Delays in locating or restocking crucial supplies can lead to longer procedure times, and even cancelled cases, raising patient risk. And even when the surgery goes ahead, missing inventory often results in expensive last-minute orders, placing a burden on already tight budgets.

And once the surgery is in process, nurses then have to suffer longwinded supply chain documentation that cause frustration and distract from patient care.

Tackling CL/IR/EP lab inventory inefficiencies

If Cath lab supply chain inefficiencies are not tackled now, when demand increases, the costs and impact are going to be even higher.

In the journal piece, Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association said, “We recognize that the landscape of cardiovascular health will change over the next three decades because of the coming tsunami of rising healthcare costs, an older population living longer, and increasing numbers of people from under-resourced populations.“

Smart providers will want to stay ahead of the curve and plan Cath lab efficiency enhancers, including introducing inventory automation.

Benefits of implementing a Cath Lab inventory system

An automated Cath lab inventory system can enhance procedure room supply management in two ways.

• Providing full stock visibility: Smart cabinets and RFID wands enable item level tracking, expiry management, automated restocks, and easy location of pick list products.
• Utilization documentation: Ensuring point of use documentation results in accurate and complete EHR records, and that supply chain management is demand-driven.

Inventory optimization can facilitate impressive cost savings:

• 30% reduction in inventory
• 70% reduction in waste
• $1-2 Million supply chain savings

Automating stock and point of use supply management frees up your finance and ensures perioperative nurses can focus on patient care.

As with all industries, the healthcare sector is embracing AI to reduce labor, streamline workflows, improve analytics and prepare for future growth. According to Statista data, the AI market size is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate of 17.3% between 2023 and 2030.

The future of Cardiac inventory efficiency

With CVD treatment demand due to rise in urban and rural areas, hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers that leverage technology to improve the efficiency of their healthcare delivery will be able to rise to the dual challenges of increased demand and rising costs, and in doing so, scale up their provision.

Are your cardiovascular units set up to scale?

Find out about our custom Cath-lab bundle – the most efficient way to manage stock, consignment, and bill-only items.