Your health system’s item master is a highly valuable, often overlooked set of data. Properly maintained, and your item master will ensure your group receives the correct items for the correct price, every time. A neglected item master, however, may create long-term issues for your system, such as pricing errors. Let’s take a closer look at ways your item master could be flawed and how your team may improve its effectiveness.

Following the Item Master

The item master is only effective when it is used. If someone purchases a product without using a purchase order, the item master is not referenced, and it is far more difficult to ensure that transaction’s accuracy. This frequently occurs when ordering products not contained in the item master, such as non-stock items.

Common Item Master Errors

A system’s purchasing or contracting department is ultimately responsible for ensuring that all product information is accurately recorded in the item master, but we know from experience that no department is immune to human error. In the item master, even a small error on one item may multiply into more significant issues over time, as every order referencing that one item will be incorrect. Common item master errors include:

• Price discrepancies: An item’s price may increase or decrease over time
• Packaging changes: Changes to a product’s packaging may change your unit of measure and affect item pricing
• Duplicate items: Duplicated items may cause purchase orders to feature incorrect pricing
• Old or outdated products: Having old or outdated products in the item master creates opportunities for error

How to Clean Up Your Item Master

Cleaning up your item master starts with dedicating the time and resources toward reviewing it. Many hospitals establish a cross-departmental item master team that conducts frequent, systematic reviews of the item master. During an item master review, your team should:

• Deactivate items no longer in use
• Ensure descriptions conform to organizational standards
• Confirm correct units of measure for each product
• Evaluate item pricing for accuracy

We also recommend limiting the number of people with access to your system’s item master. This ensures that every change to the master has a verifiable paper trail and reduces the opportunity for error.

Trust the Experts

In our experience, many hospitals are unable to put in the amount of time required to properly manage an item master. Worse, they may be unaware of how a poorly maintained item master negatively impacts their cash flow. That’s where our experienced healthcare auditors come in. The Audit Group specializes in identifying errors in your organization’s item master and attributing financial losses to those errors, allowing your organization to make more informed decisions around your internal processes. Contact us today to see how an item master review will improve your purchasing department’s efficiency and profitability.