This is applicable to caregivers who are caring for a loved one who require a lot of different medical supply items and disposables:
- to ensure stocks do not run out
- to know exactly stocks are low and need to be restocked without needing to go and check on it all the time
- due to too much items to keep track off hence a system or record needs to be credited.
It is something I came up with myself and improvise as I go along. You may also find it useful to use to manage groceries, cleaning supplies and important items that needs to be always sufficient and there. And that it is not that convenient for you to go out to buy like a few items at a time.
However, I would put in the context of how I organize my mom’s medical supplies and disposables.
Why I had to come out with an organizing system
Last year after my mom had a tracheostomy done and is on assisted oxygen (via oxygen concentrator machine) 24 hours a day, the amount of disposable and medical items that I need to use and keep in stock skyrocketed. Handling a tracheostomy tube requires outmost care hence all items that contact with the trach need need to be sterile disposable items.
Prior to that, I would do a restock enough for 6 weeks as there is someone who helped me purchase the items from a wholesaler in town. Each time when it is time to restock, I would count the number of stocks left and then estimate how much I need for the coming time, then list down the items for them to help me purchase.
Each time when I go and take an item to use, I would also mentally note the stocks left and usually try to make a mental note to buy items that needed to be replenished. It can get overwhelming at times to try to note all these but I could still manage it during my mom had the NG feeding tube but before the tracheostomy.
Ater the tracheostomy, we needed additional disposable items such as sterile disposable dressing kits, cotton swab (sizes S and L), gauzes (2×2 and 3×3), tracheostomy masks and oxygen tube, 3M micropore tapes (sizes small and large), sterile water in large volume (for the oxygen machines), wound plasters, parafin dressing, etc etc. This is on top of the already large volume of other items such as diapers, lining, wet tissues, NG tube, enteral feeding tubes, suction tubes, saline water, filters for the suction and oxygen machines, cotton balls, rubber gloves, enema, KJ jelly, Cetaphil (for wash and mosturizing cream), her medications and eye/ear oilment/drops, Betadine, oral paste, etc etc.
The sheer volume of items become almost impossible to mentally track. And because it is not convenient for me to go out and purchase these items myself, I have to make sure I track properly so that they do not run out of stock.
The system I came up with- simple and functional
After some thinking, I took out a notebook and started tracking the stocks of each items. My method is very simple but I would need to record down each time I take something or replenish something. Apologies for the chicken scratch of a handwriting.
Below is a screenshot of one of the pages I use to track the stock.
I use different pages based on where I need to buy the items from as my mom’s medical items are bought separately in different places. For example, the page above consisted of the items that I get from the wholesale pharmacy in town.
The first time, I would list all the items and do a stock take on them. The stock of each item would be listed in the respective column. The ones in pink is when I replenish (ie add to the existing stock).
Each time I take an item or replenish the stock, I would jot down on this book, together with the date and month. After tracking for a few times, I would be able to determine quite accurately how long each items would be used for and hence be able to correctly plan the volume of items to purchase.
I started this system around April 2024 and have been following it very consistently till now. For example, I know I would need a pack of suction catherers (50 pcs) and a box of gloves about once a week, sterile water about once every 2 to 3 days. The notebook with the pens are placed in easy access and reach on the desk in my room.
This really takes a load off my mind as I no longer need to mentally keep track and remind myself that certain items are low in stock. Because I need to budget and pay for the purchase, I have a separate notebook to list down the items that I bought and how much I paid for them. So when I notice that I would need to restock certain items next time, I would write the items down in the list of items to be purchased. Right before the purchase, I would cross reference on how much of stock I have left and then purchase the required items accordingly.
Learnings:
There would be certain items that are used up much faster than others. Once I run out of space to list the quick moving items like disposable gloves, suction tubes and sterile water, in the next page when I create the columns, I would allocate more boxes for these fast moving items. When the space runs out, I would move these items to a new page.
Very recently, it was no longer convenient to go to the wholesale pharmacy in town to stock the items. So I took one morning to go around the pharmacies near my area and managed to find a pharmacy run by a pharmacists. This pharmacist tried his best to match the price I am getting but some items are understandably more expensive because he could only place order for small volume, unlike the wholesale pharmacy which buy in large volume from the manufacturer. It has been much more convenient for me because his shop is not far from my place and he would help me order the items that I need. After the order arrive, I would collect and do an online transfer to his bank account (I do not have much cash at hand and usually pay by online transfer).
Similarly for you too…. if you are stocking for items on your own, sometimes it is cheaper to try to work out with a small business near your area. Even though the cost may be more expensive, but you may be able to still save from the petrol and time spent to travel.
Hope this helps. I have a separate way to track my mom’s medication and restock items I need from her doctor which I share in this post.
