Clinical staff at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) were facing various challenges with managing medical equipment, including clutter, equipment loss and time lost trying to locate items. To address this issue, the Nursing Department and the Procurement and Logistics Department created a shared inventory system, accessible through a computerized platform that was fully developed at CHUM. The aim was to optimize the management of medical equipment.

Equipment requests, which were once submitted on paper, are now processed through an application that uses a decision-support algorithm to select the most suitable equipment based on patient needs.

The Procurement and Logistics Department handles delivery or rebalancing of stock depending on needs, urgency and frequency of use. The computerized system for on-demand delivery management eliminates paper requests and improves stock tracking and control, while rebalancing ensures that units have access to equipment based on a predefined quota.

These new practices relieve staff from administrative tasks related to equipment management. The integration of a clinical decision-making algorithm into the system marks a significant step forward in digitalizing processes and clinical practices. Geolocation helps detect discrepancies, reducing the time spent searching for equipment and providing a real-time overview of operations.

Lead :
Joumana Fawaz, Specialist Care Advisor, Wound Care and Chief Ostomy Therapist