How to Create a Supply Formulary

The "supply formulary" is a logistical concept in institutionalized health care that is roughly comparable to the "just in time" logistical concept in industry. The idea in health care is to order only those medical supplies that are needed just before they are needed and to also standardize the products that are used to avoid duplication and waste. A supply formulary is a set of rules that staff in hospitals, long-term care facilities and home health care agencies should follow when they order supplies.

Instructions

• 1

  Evaluate the business practices of your health care institution. Identify costs and wastes in buying supplies.

• 2

  Enlist an executive to endorse the idea of a supply formulary and form a committee. Call the committee the "formulary task force" or the "formulary steering committee."

• 3

  Work with physicians to establish a protocol for collecting data about what they order. Appoint formulary leaders for every department in your institution.

• 4

  Acquire raw data using the protocol agreed to by the physicians in your institution.

• 5

  Measure and cleanse the raw data. Verify that physicians are participating and that they are supplying you with reliable data. Identify recurring and unique purchases.

• 6

  Evaluate the measured and cleansed data. Consider historical usage, function, ease

  of use, quality, wear time, units of measure and prices to identify ways to cut costs and increase efficiency.

• 7

  Achieve institutional acceptance of the formulary developed from the measured and cleansed data.

• 8

  Implement the formulary and measure compliance with it.