Case studies / Hospitals and Clinics
Case studyConsumable demand forecasting for a hospital group
A private hospital group forecast pharmacy and consumable demand by facility, standardised equipment maintenance and claims, and saw cost per department for the first time.
Overview
A private healthcare group in the United Arab Emirates operating four hospitals and fourteen outpatient clinics, treating insured local and expatriate patients across most specialties.
Scale. Around 11,000 stocked pharmacy and consumable items, 6,000 pieces of medical equipment and more than 60,000 insurance claims a month, delivered as a phased, multi-location programme.
The challenge
Stock-outs interrupted treatment. A ward ran out of a particular cannula, a theatre lacked the right suture for a scheduled operation, and a clinic had to send patients across town for a dressing it should have stocked. Nurses kept private stashes as insurance, which made the shortages elsewhere worse and hid stock that later expired.
Each facility ordered consumables in its own way, mostly by topping up to fixed levels set years earlier. Nobody adjusted for seasonal patterns, such as respiratory cases in the cooler months, or for new services opening. Expired stock was written off quietly at each site.
Equipment maintenance was largely reactive, with infusion pumps and monitors repaired when they failed. Insurance claims followed different procedures in each facility, and denials for missing codes or pre-authorisations were common. Leadership had no view of what each department actually cost to run, which made budget discussions with heads of department slow and often inconclusive. With two new clinics due to open, the group could not afford to copy these habits into more sites.
The solution
Demand for each pharmacy and consumable item is forecast by facility and department, using recorded usage, scheduled procedures and seasonal patterns. Suggested orders take account of stock on hand, including ward stores now recorded in the system, and items close to expiry are moved to where they will be used first.
Every piece of medical equipment has a maintenance plan by class and manufacturer guidance. Biomedical engineers receive scheduled work orders, and departments can see which equipment is due for service and plan around it.
Claims are checked against payer rules before submission: diagnosis and procedure codes, pre-authorisations and supporting documents. Denials are tracked by reason so recurring causes can be fixed at source. Shared master data for items, equipment, departments and payers connects these processes, and monthly reporting shows cost, stock and claims by department.
The engagement
- Ten months
- Seven specialists, with pharmacy, nursing, biomedical engineering and revenue-cycle leads
- Process mapping, consumable and pharmacy demand forecasting, expiry control, planned equipment maintenance, claims processes, shared master data, pilot and phased rollout.
Integrations
- Hospital information and clinical systems
- Laboratory and supply systems
- Insurance and payer portals
- Secure identity and audit logging
How we delivered it
- 01
Map the work and agree measures
Six weeks
We followed consumables from receipt to bedside, equipment from purchase to repair and claims from discharge to payment, in two hospitals and several clinics. At the outset, the executive team agreed the measures: critical stock-outs, expiry write-offs, equipment downtime, first-pass claim acceptance and cost per department.
- 02
Design common processes and integrations
Thirteen weeks
Pharmacy and supply teams designed one forecasting and replenishment process using actual usage by department, adjusted for activity and season. Biomedical engineers set planned maintenance schedules for every equipment class. Revenue-cycle staff agreed common claim checks before submission.
- 03
Pilot in one hospital
Eight weeks
The largest hospital went first. The pilot revealed duplicate item codes for the same product and ward stores missing from the stock system altogether. Both were corrected and staff trained on live wards.
- 04
Roll out in waves and track results
Fourteen weeks
The remaining hospitals and clinics followed in two waves. The executive team reviewed the agreed measures every month.
Results
- Stock-outs fell and expiry waste reduced
- Planned maintenance reduced equipment downtime
- Fewer insurance claims denied at first submission
- Cost per department visible and savings found
Stock-outs fell and expiry waste reduced. Nurses trust the supply now, and the private stashes have largely disappeared, which released stock and space on every ward.
Planned maintenance has reduced unexpected equipment failures, and fewer claims are denied at first submission because problems are caught before they reach the insurer. Cash arrives sooner as a result.
With cost data linked to departments, leadership saw cost per department for the first time. Several surprises emerged, including one surgical specialty using a premium consumable where a standard item served equally well, and savings were agreed with the clinicians involved.
Because the measures were agreed at the start, the monthly review is short and factual. Teams across facilities work from the same data and leadership can see progress clearly.
We had never been able to say what a department cost us. Once we could, the conversations with clinicians became practical rather than political.
What made the difference
The hospital group saw cost per department for the first time and found savings. Agreeing measures at the start made success easy to recognise.
