The cobas Inventory Management System (cIMS) from Roche was installed at the Royal Preston Hospital in October 2007. It has resulted in significant time savings and increased efficiency in the management of analyser reagents at the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Since cIMS was installed at the Royal Preston Hospital, the number of hours spent on inventory duties has been reduced from five to six hours per week to less that one hour, allowing staff to make better use of their time. A satellite laboratory at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital is also being connected to cIMS, which will enable inventory to be tracked at both sites on a single database and will simplify stock transfer between sites. “cIMS has significantly improved our reagent stock control,” commented chief biomedical scientist Tim McIlwaine. “It allows us to be more focused in our ordering. As a result, we have been able to minimise our stock levels, and in particular we no longer overstock items that have a short shelf life, so there is less wastage.” Unlike other inventory management systems, cIMS is a web-based application, enabling data to be shared between different networks and allowing the system to be distributed easily across various sites. With the ability to record reagent usage for all analysers, cIMS manages stock by lot number and expiry date, thus minimising waste. The system also produces a wide range of reports, including stock status and usage patterns. Each cIMS installation comes with the provision and maintenance of handheld scanners, full installation training, hotline technical support, system updates and data storage.