These days, many hospitals and other medical facilities find themselves in a similar predicament regarding the storage and tracking of emergency medical supplies. These supplies may include anything from controlled substances and oxygen tanks to scrubs and uniforms. In many facilities, a hospital manager may need to be present in order for an EMS or other hospital employee to obtain the inventory needed from the facility’s stock. And other inventory tracking systems, such as employee ID logs and card readers, can (and sometimes are) abused.
Fortunately, there is a way for medical facilities these days to keep the controlled substances and other pharmaceutical supplies that they need safely contained and tracked. Specifically, custom vending solutions may be the way to go.
How Do Medical Vending Systems Work?
While on the surface, a vending machine may not seem like the most secure means of dispensing valuable hospital inventory, the fact is that technology has made it possible for these custom vending machines not only to dispense items, but to do so securely.
Specifically, a custom medical vending system can be programmed to work with a medical facility’s existing security measures. Whether the facility relies on employee access codes, card readers, fingerprint readers, or a combination of these, the machine can be designed and programmed to require that same input before dispensing any supplies to the user.
Another great feature of these systems is that each transaction is carefully tracked; therefore, once an item is dispensed, the facility’s inventory is automatically updated to reflect this. If desired, the system can automatically order more inventory when the system determines that the supply of a particular item is low. As a result medical facilities save time and money when they convert to such a system.
Medical Vending Systems and Security
Of course, the ultimate priority of any medical facility dealing with pharmacy inventory (especially controlled substances) is making sure that nothing falls into the wrong hands. Fortunately, custom medical vending systems are more secure than any other system currently available.
Specifically, these systems track, catalog, timestamp, and regulate the dispensing of all supplies. In fact, it’s even possible to set the system up so that a manager receives an automatic e-mail any time inventory is dispensed from the machine. This e-mail can contain information about what was dispensed and who requested it. This not only adds security to the process and cuts down on instances of theft but also saves facilities the time and money required to have a manager on site every time inventory is requested by an employee.
Furthermore, these vending systems are available not only for hospital inventory, but for employee uniforms such as scrubs and other medical retail as well. Whether a medical facility is in need of a few simple vending machines for the cafeteria or something as secure as a controlled substance vending system, the options are available. These automated medical inventory control options can save medical facilities a great deal of money in the long run.
