ABSTRACT
A comprehensive review of inventory management is beyond the scope of this book. In fact, the knowledge needed by the average person working in or running an emergency department (ED) is a lot different from the level of understanding an inventory or supply chain manager may need. For this reason, this chapter will focus on common pitfalls and solutions to inventory management and the elements most needed for the purposes of ED operations. Throughout this chapter, we will discuss classic inventory management concepts from industry. We will map these concepts into the world of healthcare, where they differ in many respects due to the fact that healthcare is a service industry which transforms patients from illness to wellness. As such, inventory and supplies are used to support the service aspects of patient care, unlike manufacturing, where these items are physically transformed into products that are ultimately sold to produce revenue. In the latter, inventory is needed to create the item to be sold; and in the former, inventory is used to provide a service of creating wellness.
