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Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) is one of the largest hospital trusts in England’s National Health Service (NHS), with ten hospital sites across Greater Manchester. Working with Genesis, the Trust has moved from managing one part of its supply chain to commanding all of it, with every item, consumable and implant used on a patient recorded directly in the Epic electronic health record (EHR).
“We’ve transitioned from owning one part of the supply chain to actually commanding the full supply chain across our ten sites, and that’s the leap that we’ve made through the Genesis inventory management system.”Simon WalshProcurement Director, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
At a glance: since linking Genesis to the patient record
| Figure | What it shows |
|---|---|
| 3 million | items scanned |
| 240,000 | clinical procedures |
| 177,000 | unique patients |
| 175 | operating rooms |
| 27 to 1 | barcode types in the children’s operating rooms, reduced to a single barcode |
| £1.9 million | in savings and added value |
The challenge
MFT had run materials management across its sites for many years. It did its job well, but it mainly covered items supplied through NHS Supply Chain. A significant volume of high-value products came from outside that route, and those items needed the same control and the same traceability.
“We had materials management across our sites for many years, but that was materials management, primarily items supplied via NHS Supply Chain. There’s a whole host of items of significant value outside of NHS Supply Chain.”
Simon Walsh, Procurement Director, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
At the same time, the Trust was preparing for the largest digital transformation in its history. Through the Hive program, MFT engaged Epic to deliver one electronic health record across the Trust. Before Hive, staff spent time on manual data entry, and patients cared for at more than one site could find themselves repeating the same information to different teams. Accurate, timely data on the items used in each patient’s care was a critical piece of the puzzle.
The solution
Genesis was already in place for materials management across the Trust, and its integration with Epic made it the natural choice to bring accurate supply data into the patient record.
From 2022, MFT rolled out the integration between Genesis and Epic. Every item, supply, consumable and implant used on a patient is now scanned at the point of care and written to that patient’s record.
“From 2022 we rolled out our integration between Genesis and Epic, which allows the patient record to be updated with any items, supplies, consumables and implants, medical items that have been used on that patient.”
Karl Markham, Scan4Safety Senior Systems Development Manager, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
One standard, one barcode
Good data starts with a consistent barcode. When MFT first went live with Genesis, its children’s operating rooms were handling 27 different types of barcode. Today there is one. Genesis is GS1 compliant, and the Trust works closely with GS1 to train suppliers and encourage them to move to GS1 barcoding.
“When we first went live with Genesis, we had 27 different sorts of barcodes within our children’s theaters. We’ve now reduced that down to one barcode. Genesis is a GS1 compliant system. We work very hard with GS1 to train our suppliers and to encourage them to move over to GS1 barcoding, which helps from a safety aspect and from a recording aspect.”
Mark Stevens, Deputy Director for Procurement, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Traceability when it matters most
Scan4Safety is ultimately about keeping patient data accurate and up to date. When a recall or safety notice reaches the Trust, the team can go into Genesis and see right away, by lot number, serial number or item code, exactly where an item has been. If needed, they can trace it to the patient who received it.
“From time to time we do get item issues come through into the trust. This could be a recall, it could be a notice about an item that’s got an issue with it. We can go into Genesis and immediately see, using lot numbers, serial numbers, item codes, exactly where that item has been. And if needed, we can trace it to a patient as well.”Karl MarkhamScan4Safety Senior Systems Development Manager, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
More time with patients
In the operating room, scanning at the point of care replaces manual input. Genesis records the data, so clinical teams can put their time where it counts.
“It means that we’re able to spend more time with our patients and less time inputting information into the computer, as Genesis does this all for us.”
Lucy Benn, Senior Theatre Practitioner, Trafford General Orthopaedic Theatres
Reducing waste and releasing value
Genesis flags any item due to expire within six months to the clinical department that holds it. If it isn’t going to be used there, it can be moved to another area of the Trust, or outside the Trust where possible, before it goes to waste.
“The expired lines for MFT is a massive, massive tool. Basically anything that is due to expire within six months, we have the ability to send that to each clinical department. If we know there is an item that isn’t going to be used, then it gives them the option to transfer that to another internal area or even outside of the trust if possible.”
Ryan Bevan, Scan4Safety Senior Systems Development Manager, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Alongside the gains in tracking and traceability, the partnership has generated £1.9 million in savings and added value for MFT, money the Trust can redirect into the services it provides.
“Our partnership with Genesis not only gives us all the benefits in terms of product tracking and traceability, but it’s also enabled us to generate £1.9 million of savings and added value. Savings that can be redirected towards the services we provide.”
Simon Walsh, Procurement Director, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
The scale of the Hive integration
- 50,000 errors corrected
- 280 new smart devices deployed
- 61,000 items
- 20,000 traceable implants
- 422 procedural rooms
All managed in Genesis
“Genesis provides MFT not just with great visibility over its inventory management, but really useful point of care data capture and robust traceability. This level of data allows us to look at standardization and rationalization opportunities throughout the many thousands of procedures we perform.”
Debbie Stevenson, Head of Supplies and P2P, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
“In the end, it’s all about patients and it’s all about patient care. And our partnership with Genesis has supported that.”Simon WalshProcurement Director, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Talk to us about bringing the same safety, insight and efficiency to your health system. genesisahc.com/demo-request
About Genesis
Genesis is a Clinical Lifecycle Management Platform integrating seamlessly with existing ERP and EHR systems to deliver real-time traceability, inventory management and analytics across The Clinical Supply Lifecycle. Working with NHS Trusts, Health Boards and private hospitals across the UK, Ireland and the US, Genesis delivers measurable improvements in patient safety, clinical efficiency and financial performance.
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