CHRISTUS Health teams up with Crothall to help address one of its biggest opportunities: Ongoing Asset Management

Annual Inventory Results

The results of the annual inventory surpassed expectations and confirmed the benefits of an annual review, with the Asset Management (AM) team completing 100% inventory of nearly 130,000 assets system-wide. At the final CHRISTUS System Level Asset Management Annual Review, the following strategic benefits were highlighted:

• 51% reduction in “unable-to-locate” devices.
  – Improved inventory accuracy and accountability for ‘Management and Inventory only’ devices, with nearly 4,000 added to the CMMS.
• Continued streamlining of processes allowed the team to finish 15+% ahead of schedule.
• 100% accountability of Uninterrupted Power Supply Units connected to medical devices in accordance with CHRISTUS Health requirements.
• Achieved 98%+ confidence level in Crothall’s capital planning recommendations.
• Successful performance of all CHRISTUS facilities during their Joint Commission (TJC) inspections in 2022, with zero findings across the entire health system.

“The success of the CHRISTUS AM Team’s inaugural year demonstrates the value of having a dedicated
inventory team. Utilizing their knowledge and experience, they identified opportunities to benefit asset
management functions which made a profound impact in streamlining our overall service program. The team’s
expertise and experience were essential to the successful completion of the inventory and the identification
of opportunities for improvement. We cannot envision operating a system-wide service program as expansive
as ours without a dedicated inventory team. Their focus and attention to our unique needs far surpassed
expectations.”
— Rachael Bennett, CHRISTUS System Director of Capital Equipment

Indirect/Long-Term Benefits
• The asset management initiative significantly raised the executive team’s confidence and customer satisfaction in the overall comprehensiveness of Crothall’s healthcare technology management program. This was evident in the level of reported service metrics, financials, and quality of ongoing Partnership Reviews.
• Identification of process improvement of ‘in/out’ medical device material control between Material Management and the onsite Crothall team across the many different geographical campuses.

Challenges

Inventory management is a critical function in healthcare, directly impacting decision-making, patient care, cost controls, regulatory compliance, training needs, and capital planning. In 2021, as Texas-based CHRISTUS Health began to emerge from the grip of the COVID pandemic, they saw a unique opportunity to improve operational performance by conducting a comprehensive medical equipment inventory audit of over 126,000 medical devices.

Working with the health system, we identified several factors leading to frequent updates and management of the inventory:

• Multiple service lines/outpatient centers activated, deactivated, and adjusted inventory to align with the new, post-covid operations.
• Increase in devices designated “unable to locate.” Two main factors: COVID-restricted areas and clinical teams’ heightened preferences for quick access to specific devices.
• A traditional 2% quarterly flux of material/ inventory was compounded by COVID operational adjustments and multiple medical device supply chain issues.
• The release and installation of capital paused during the height of COVID (dating back to 2019).
• CHRISTUS Health System also entered its TJC inspection window—33 hospital inspections.

“A comprehensive inventory audit of all medical devices has helped us in several ways. The impact is across
the board. It helps improve patient care and regulatory compliance while making capital planning easier
because we can eliminate redundant purchases. It gives us complete visibility into the full inventory across our
system at a moment’s notice. It makes it easier to run our business.”
— Rachael Bennett

Solutions

Understanding effective inventory management is essential to the successful operation of healthcare, CHRISTUS and Crothall HTS teamed up to design and staff a dedicated 10-person annual inventory Asset Management (AM) team.

Resources Identified
The dedicated AM team was comprised of specialists in Project Management, Data Management, Imaging, Laboratory, and Biomedical Devices. They were responsible for conducting an annual inventory of the CHRISTUS Ministries’ 130K+ medical device inventory — including all critical care facilities, associated auxiliary sites, imaging centers, Ambulatory/Emergency Department Care Centers, medical office buildings, and regional storage areas.

Success Defined
Clearly defining success from the outset ensured alignment among all stakeholders involved. The AM team had four goals:

• 100% Annual Inventory
• Regulatory Compliance
• Reduction of equipment designated as “Unable to Locate” UTL
• Metric/Financial Accuracy

Key Processes Identified
To ensure the benefits of the inventory were felt at all levels of the health system, we collaborated with CHRISTUS to develop critical processes for optimal communication:

• Pre-Inventory kick-off
  Served as an opportunity to discuss department inventory schedules and set expectations for the arrival of the Crothall team on-site.
• Daily Communications
  Covered the progress made on the physical inventory, any changes in schedule, the team’s specific focus for the day, after-hours work arrangements for departments with high flow, such as the Operating Room (OR), and plans for working during the upcoming weekend.
• Post-inventory Communication
  CHRISTUS Ministry Executive Team received post-inventory detailing inventory changes, financial implications, improvements in UTLs, as well as scalable best practices between Materials Management and Crothall’s site personnel.

Improved Accuracy of Medical Device Identification
Extra focus was placed on ensuring the current asset stickers were secure and legible for scanning. The asset components were also accurately captured with the “parent-child” system affiliation, and three pictures were captured as physical evidence for every medical device.

Identified Special Focus Areas
As the AM team audited the Critical Care Ministries, they were able to provide special attention to recent TJC focus areas such as inventory of all Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) connected to a medical device.

“Ongoing communication to all key personnel at each of the 33 facilities was essential. Keeping the lines of communication
open and constantly flowing served as an important platform for providing feedback and exchanging ideas and perspectives. We wanted to ensure everyone knew our daily priorities during the physical inventory process while also making certain we were not disrupting patient care and other clinical responsibilities. The cooperation of hundreds of people throughout the health system helped us ensure an accurate inventory.”
— Michael Martin, Regional Vice President, Crothall Healthcare