GLOBAL BRIGADES
Global Medical Brigades is an international movement of students and medical professionals working alongside local communities and staff to implement sustainable health systems. They work in remote, rural, and under-resourced communities who would otherwise have limited to no access to health care. Global Brigades, caries out medical Brigades in rural communities in Honduras and Nicaragua.
THE CHALLENGE
The mismanagement of stockrooms and warehouses can lead any organization to a significant loss of profits and resources. An Inventory System will allow proper management of inventory items and the needed visibility. Volunteers have to sort medications and fill prescriptions in the pharmacy station where patients drop-off and pick-up prescriptions.
When dealing with medications extra attention is needed. The main challenge of Global Brigades was to decrease the number of expired medications not used in time. Global Brigades was encountering excessive amounts of expiring medications that they couldn’t keep track of. Implementing an Inventory System provided the ability to track stock items, track perishable items, and track medical inventory based on their expiration date.
FINDING A SYSTEM TO FIT THEIR NEEDS
ASAP Systems answered these needs and provided Global Brigades with an Inventory System. This Inventory System delivered easily, accessible and accurate information preventing any unnecessary expenses related to inventory. In Global Brigades case, with the proper expiry date tracking, medications are being used before their expiry date. It also allowed Global Brigades to configure data fields to fit their growing needs and the possibility to generate and edit reports.
Furthermore, our barcode-based Inventory System provided Global Brigades visibility over the purchased medication and the donated medications. ASAP Systems Inventory System is a flexible software that allows for use in multiple locations. This was a beneficial feature because Medical Brigades operates in different locations.
The Multiple Site Feature allowed all users, from any location, to share a master database, with the convenience to access their own independent data. A master administrator has the single power to access and view all data from all locations.
IMPLEMENTATION
Medical Brigades was in need of ASAP Systems Inventory System for its multiple location Feature. They needed to implement the system in two countries Honduras and Nicaragua. “In Honduras, we had all of the inventory ready in an excel sheet to transfer to the inventory system. Once the items were in the system, the training on how to use the system wasn’t too difficult.” Said Maura Riordon, Medications Coordinator at Global Brigades, Inc. in Nicaragua, Medical Brigades had a greater learning curve due to the limited timeframe they had before the high demand season. Medical Brigades faced minor problems with implementing our Inventory System but nothing our Support Team couldn’t handle.
TANGIBLE BENEFITS
ASAP Systems Inventory System assisted Medical Brigades by offering the perceptibility of expired medications and keeping efficient batch and lot tracking as well. In addition, the system provided the ability to generate configurable inventory reports whenever needed. The online-based system allowed easier access so that Medical Brigades was able to manage inventory anywhere and anytime. It also provided a more detailed presentation of their quick-moving on-hand inventory. The Inventory System benefited Medical Brigades with faster data entry and gave them greater precision by eliminating human error.
THE SOLUTION
After the Inventory System implementation, Medical Brigades used many features that aided them with their daily procedures during their high demand seasons. Transactions like Receive, Issue, Return, and Report sections of the system. Medical Brigades are constantly purchasing medications and issuing them to communities, and then returning to the stock room the medications not used at the clinic.
The Inventory System benefited Medical Brigades with an imperative way to track what comes in and out of their inventory. In addition, Medical Brigades has benefited from the ability to input expiration dates on the received medications and the ability to view stock items based on their expiration dates. Now, they can use the medications that will expire the soonest and not experience an excess of obsolete items.