Intelligent Health Management System: an Italian project to streamline stock management in health facilities

Although the application of industrial stock management techniques to medical supplies is suggested by many studies (Griffin, Scherrer, & Swann, 2006), the great majority of health facilities do not pay the due attention to stock management. The aim of this paper is to present benefits achievable with a proper management of health materials by simulating aforementioned techniques over real data from an Italian hospital. Key benefits are stock reduction and then lower costs for working capital, lower risk of expiration or obsolescence and finally a higher awareness of the warehouse resulting in clinical risk reduction and improved orders management. Those advantages are even more notable in this period because of the financial crisis and the need to streamline stock management while maintaining a very high service level, which is a priority for healthcare services.