Medical inventory software for clinics

What a clinic actually stocks

Clinic inventory isn't a warehouse problem. It's a short list of expensive, dated, regulated things, kept in several rooms and often several sites.

• Injectables and drugs. Neurotoxin, filler, local anesthetic, vaccines, hormones. Bought by the box, stored by the vial, given by the unit.
• Supplies. Needles, cannulas, gauze, gloves, kits.
• Retail. Medical-grade skin care and aftercare products sold at the front desk or online.
• Devices. Remote monitoring devices handed to patients, which have to be tracked until they come back.

Each one moves differently. A good inventory system knows the difference.

The eight jobs medical inventory software has to do

1. Know what's on hand, by location. Treatment room, front desk, back stock, second site. A clinic-wide total hides the room that just ran out.
2. Track lots and expiry. Every unit belongs to a lot with an expiry date. Expired stock shouldn't be usable, and short-dated stock should be flagged before it's wasted.
3. Run the opened-vial clock. An opened multi-dose vial has its own use-by date. The CDC, citing USP General Chapter 797, says an opened vial "should be dated and discarded within 28 days unless the manufacturer states another date for that opened vial" (CDC). The software should start that clock when the vial is opened, not when the box arrived.
4. Convert units exactly. Bought in boxes, counted in vials, used in units. Rounding errors add up to real money on a product priced by the unit.
5. Receive against the delivery. What arrived, what arrived damaged, what went on the shelf.
6. Record use, waste and variance with a reason. Waste isn't the same as use. A count that doesn't match needs an adjustment someone signs for.
7. Handle a recall. Put a whole lot on hold everywhere it sits, in one step, so nobody draws from it.
8. Tell you what to reorder. From a minimum and a target for each item at each location, net of what's already on its way.

And it has to keep the history. Every movement, who made it and why, with nothing edited after the fact.

Why spreadsheets and EMR supply lists break

A spreadsheet records what someone typed last. It doesn't know a vial was opened yesterday, can't refuse an expired lot, and can't tell you who changed a number.

Most EMRs carry a supply or charge list. Few track lots across locations, opened containers or reorder points. The result is a monthly count that never matches and a shortage found mid-treatment.

Medical inventory for dermatology and med spas

Aesthetic and dermatology practices carry the hardest version of this problem.

• Neurotoxin is priced and documented by the unit. A vial reconstituted for one patient's treatment and drawn for the next has to be accounted for to the unit.
• Lot numbers belong in the treatment record. If a lot is recalled, the practice needs the list of patients treated from it.
• The shelf and the treatment room share stock. Skin care sold at the desk or online comes out of the same count as the product used after a procedure.

Many of these practices sell skin care on Shopify. Caesar connects the store to the same inventory. See Shopify for dermatology practices and med spas.

What to ask any inventory vendor

1. Can it show stock by room and by site, not only clinic-wide?
2. Does it refuse an expired or recalled lot, or only warn?
3. Does an opened vial get its own use-by date?
4. Are unit conversions exact, item by item?
5. Can it put a whole lot on hold everywhere in one step?
6. Can you see every movement, who made it and why?
7. Does it suggest reorders, and who approves them?
8. Can you record the units and lot against a patient's treatment?
9. Does it connect to the store where you sell retail?
10. Will the vendor sign a BAA once patient treatments are linked?

Where Caesar fits

Caesar Inventory is part of the Caesar clinic operating system. It runs beside the EMR you already use.

• Stock by location. Rooms, storage and sites, each with its own counts and its own reorder rules.
• Lots, expiry and opened containers. Expired and held stock can't be used. An opened container starts its own clock, and use after it runs out is refused.
• Exact units. Buy by the box, stock by the vial, use by the unit, with conversions set per item.
• Receiving, use, waste, transfers and counts. Each one is a posted movement with a reason. Transfers between sites show as in transit until they're received.
• Recalls. Hold a lot and it's blocked at every location.
• Per-patient units. Record the units and the lot against the patient's treatment, so a recall becomes a patient list.
• Reorder suggestions. Caesar shows the shortfall against each rule and drafts the request. Your staff confirm it and place the order.
• Agents propose, people confirm. Caesar's agents can read stock and prepare a count, a transfer or a reorder. Nothing posts until an authorized staff member confirms it.
• Shopify. Store sales draw down the same stock. See the Shopify integration.
• Permissions and history. Viewers can't post. Every movement is kept, with who made it and when.

For the rest of an aesthetic practice's day, see med spa software and dermatology.