Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Arnold Chazal, CEO and Co-Founder at VUEMED:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to your company?
A: Founded in 2008, VUEMED is a SaaS and Cloud-based healthcare technology company based in Seattle. We solve acute inventory management, supply chain, and product utilization documentation problems in hospitals with a suite of advanced UDI-compliant RAIN RFID, mobile, and barcode scanning solutions.
Q: Do you have any updates to share?
A: Yes! VUEMED is thrilled to announce the release of our newest automated inventory management product, VueStat™, an electronic shelf label (ESL) solution that will literally transform daily life for hospitals’ clinical and supply chain staff by removing the onerous and tedious task of updating product information on shelves.
This may not seem like a big deal, but a little-known fact is that hospital staff typically have to run around updating tens of thousands of labels twice a month. In fact, for most large hospitals, there are as many as 100,000 labels to manage at any given time.
These labels need to be updated with the product’s current status, such as whether or not it’s been recalled, if it’s out of stock, discontinued, on back order, or expired, if the product number has changed due to a change of manufacturer, and so on. In many cases, staff don’t have the time to print new labels, so they just write updates by hand on the existing label. And imagine how difficult it is to ensure that you’ve gone to every single location for every single product – it just doesn’t happen! There’s no real time information about a product’s status and there’s no humanly possible way of staying on top of it.
Regular and reliable product status updates have become increasingly important due to ongoing supply chain disruptions – whether from natural disasters or a shortage of materials – as well as other factors like staff turnover. When any of these problems occur, it creates a bottleneck and has a ripple effect all the way to the point of care where needed products may not be available, thereby putting patients at risk. It’s essential that hospitals have clear, complete, and readily available product information.
Q: Can you give us more insights into your offering?
A: VueStat solves this label management crisis by displaying all required product details on a label-size electronic screen, using e-ink text, images, QR codes, barcodes, etc. It provides and updates readable information remotely and in real time – information such as product pedigree, barcodes, inventory status, warnings, par levels, approved item substitutes, and so on.
With VueStat, updates are made from one central, virtual web-based portal, communicating with thousands of ESLs and updating their content within seconds across all par locations. Imagine the benefits to patients when a product’s recall status is posted in every location simultaneously, wherever that product is found. The efficiency and visibility that VueStat provides are a game changer for the healthcare industry.
Each ESL also conveys back a wide range of information, such as varying levels of stock on hand, need for replenishment, replenishment fulfilled, etc. VueStat reports specific feedback to the Cloud for analysis so that the appropriate party has the proper information available to do their job and be proactive at handling any issue.
Q: What can we expect from your company in next 6 months? What are your plans?
A: VUEMED is in a phase of rapid growth right now, which is very exciting. We are working on a new generation of applications and analytics tools that will be even more user-friendly and intuitive to further the personalized experience of the user. And over the next six months, we will begin actively promoting VueStat as the newest addition to our roster of inventory optimization offerings to hospitals.
Q: What is the best thing about your company that people might not know about?
A: Although VUEMED is far from being a start-up, we will always have the soul of one. We’re constantly seeking out the most creative and inventive ways of solving age-old supply chain and inventory management problems. We’re a small and extremely nimble company that isn’t afraid to be bold.
