Managing purchasing and inventory with bar codes. Part II.
Automated identification systems (bar coding) have proven their worth in a number of diverse manufacturing and materials handling environments. Whether this technology can be broadly applied with equal effectiveness in the health care setting still remains largely unproven. One thing is certain, however. Before bar code technology can be effectively applied in any setting, the materials manager must understand several basic concepts: How materials flow through his physical plant; How, where and in what amounts they are used; and How and when they are expensed. With this information, it is possible to create a systematized approach to materials cost containment, of which bar coding is one element. In the following article, the author illustrates how purchasing and inventory control can be made more time and labor efficient through the use of bar code technology.
D001330:Electronic Data Processing / Q000379:methods*; D007445:Inventories, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008421:Materials Management, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011682:Purchasing, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States