The purpose of a medical office or clinic is to deliver appropriate care to those in need. However, no medical office can function without adequate supplies. It is therefore essential that the medical assistant routinely evaluate and replenish the office's supplies before a shortage is noted.

In this chapter, you will focus on the importance of adequate administrative and clinical supplies in the daily operation of a typical medical practice. You will learn to evaluate, replace, organize, and pay for expendable items used routinely in a practice.

Outline

• Organizing Medical Office Supplies
• Taking Inventory of Medical Office Supplies
• Ordering Supplies

Learning Outcomes

After completing Chapter 8, you will be able to:

 8.1 Give examples of vital, incidental, and periodic supplies used in a typical medical office.
 8.2 Describe how to store administrative and clinical supplies.
 8.3 Implement a system for tracking the inventory of supplies.
 8.4 Schedule inventories and ordering times to maximize office efficiency.
 8.5 Locate and evaluate supply sources.
 8.6 Use strategies to obtain the best-quality supplies while controlling cost.
 8.7 Follow procedures for ordering supplies.
 8.8 Check a supply order and pay for the supplies.

Summary

A typical medical practice uses both administrative and clinical office supplies. Supplies can be categorized as vital, incidental, and periodic.

Keeping track of supplies involves creating supply lists and taking inventory. You must know the storage requirements for various kinds of supplies. An inventory filing system can help you organize office supply tasks. Maintaining adequate supplies and well-organized storage space contributes to the smooth running of the office.

You will also locate, evaluate, and establish and maintain working relationships with vendors. It is important to be adept at comparison pricing and to stay abreast of competitors' product quality, pricing policies, and services.

Just as cost-effectiveness is stressed in medical care, it is important to look for ways to control costs when ordering supplies. Checking orders carefully and avoiding dishonest telephone solicitations are two examples of ways to control costs.