Case Studies - OrthoRehab
Headquarters: Tempe, AZ
Sector: Healthcare
Function: Asset Management
Solution: Accurate tracking of inventory at patient, hospital and clinic locations
Benefits: Employee productivity, patient care and savings of $250,000
annually in product losses
"Compared to what we were losing, it’s practically a no-brainer as far as how quick we’re going to pick up our investment. The solution was both a necessity and an investment well worth making."
- Brian Tower, Director of Information Technology, OrthoRehab
Challenge
OrthoRehab Inc. is the leading supplier of rehabilitative goods and services to postoperative limb surgery patients in the US. Historically OrthoRehab used a paper-based inventory tracking system for the equipment that was rented to the patients and then collected back when the treatment was finished. The system was inefficient and slow, and resulted in lost revenue, confusion about the location of inventory, as well as cumbersome and error-ridden reporting systems that affected the speed at which OrthoRehab billed for services.
OrthoRehab needed an automated application that supported field inventory management including capturing barcodes on the equipment, and delivered inventory data instantly to a central database in the head office.
Solution
Each of the 173 OrthoRehab field workers was equipped with a barcode scanner and a smartphone so that equipment units could be instantly scanned. Flowfinity Forms, a data collection application, was deployed to develop electronic versions of the original paper forms. No custom programming was required to make these forms digital and the software was up-and-running within 72 hours. With Flowfinity Forms, scanned equipment data is electronically recorded at patient sites, and the information is relayed wirelessly to corporate headquarters.
Results
The electronic forms and barcode scanning eliminated human errors, a major concern for health care providers, such as illegible information or having product serial numbers recorded incorrectly. They now estimate saving $250,000 annually with their new wireless solution. The billing process is faster, accurate and inventory can be tracked up-to-the-minute. While OrthoRehab has discovered excellent financial ROI, they have equally enjoyed other benefits of their new wireless solution, including:
- A reduction in inventory tracking paperwork and an increase in accurate reporting
- Billing and inventory tracking separated for greater efficiency
- Financial losses reduced by $250,000/year in unreported losses
- Increased employee productivity and improved patient care
- Reduced administrative work in updating the master database
- Expedited processes enable more rapid billing
- Greater employee morale and more communication between mobile and office employees
Awards
Awarded the "Best Practices in Mobile & Wireless" Award by Computerworld Mobile and Wireless World
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