Managing supplies effectively is critical to avoiding waste in hospitals. Unfortunately, many facilities aren’t tracking their medical supplies as closely as they should be, and that’s created a huge surplus of medical goods that often go unused.
As discussed in a ProPublica piece, hospitals across the country are throwing away thousands of dollars’ worth of all kinds of medical devices and supplies, including gauze, surgical masks and urethral catheters. Much of the equipment is still perfectly usable – and nowhere near its expiration date.
