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Managing high frequency order lines

Published
Topics: ProcurementTrusts

Advice on optimising pharmacy systems to balance storage capacity, supply and demand.

This article forms part of a series
  1. Managing medicines inventory
    1. Understanding principles of medicines inventory management
    2. Completing regular and annual stock checks
    3. Reconciling stock in automated storage systems
    4. Monitoring slow moving stock and rarely used medicines
    5. Managing high value medicines
    6. Managing stock of critical medicines
    7. Managing high frequency order lines
    8. Managing expired stock and decommissioned products

Using our advice

Refer to the first article in this series, Managing medicines inventory (SPS page), if you have not done so already.

The actions discussed are viewed as best practice, but none are mandated by SPS regional pharmacy procurement leads.

Pharmacy systems ordering patterns

Pharmacy procurement teams continually try and balance optimum medicines inventory, reviewing storage capacity with demand and internal departmental logistics. Pharmacy ordering systems algorithms can sometimes cause capacity issues and procurement leads may need to have more regular ordering patterns. For example, intravenous fluids, where manual ordering might be the preferred method. 

Pharmacy systems, when configured appropriately, will automatically build orders in line with demand. A dependence on manual ordering routines can also lead to orders being released at the point of when a minimum order level is triggered, and not at scheduled times of the week or month. This can cause operational problems for pharmacy stores where the same medicines are being delivered several times a week. 

Similarly, the manual fixing of minimum order levels that are not changing in line with increases in demand can cause the same effect. These products are susceptible to frequent out of stocks. 

Areas for quality improvement

To ensure that ordering patterns are optimal, procurement leads can review their most frequently ordered lines, reducing delivery frequency, and improving stock holding. Pharmacy systems should support this function through system or bespoke reporting.   

The RxInfo system Exend, allows hospital pharmacy departments to report on high frequency ordering through the following: