Supporting Seafarer Health: Medical Inventory Management

Who manages the medical inventory and stores on your vessel or for your fleet? Do the regular rotations of medical staff, or new team members cause issues with managing your medical inventory and ordering resupplies? We know everyone wants what they’re familiar with, but how do you manage this? 

Managing your onboard medical inventory well is essential

Having a set inventory can help with budgeting, but someone needs to monitor usage, review against itinerary or route, check global pricing and keep up to date on the latest medical developments to ensure you have the right inventory onboard. 

In this month’s Supporting Seafarer Health blog, we’re discussing inventory management; a topic close to our hearts and probably the most time consuming task that we manage for the ships we look after. 

Managing medical inventory on ships involves adhering to specific international regulations and implementing robust internal procedures for tracking, storage, and disposal, particularly where Controlled Drugs are onboard. 

The master of the vessel is ultimately responsible for all things medical, though inventory management can be delegated to a qualified crew member, an onboard medical professional or a pharmaceutical service. 

Flag States determine what forms the basis for what medical stores a commercially operated vessel must carry as a minimum, so it’s vital to know what you have onboard, where it is, and when you may need to reorder due to use or expiry dates.

• Maintain an Accurate Inventory: A detailed and regularly updated inventory list is mandatory and should include the generic name of each item, the quantity, and the expiry date. Many vessels use electronic formats ranging from simple Excel spreadsheets to bar code tracking and online management tools to facilitate easier management and reporting.

  
  

• Regular Inspections: A medical chest certificate is an annual certification for ships, to verify that their onboard medicine chests contain the correct supplies and equipment as mandated by International Labour Organization (ILO) regulations and the specific flag state. This certificate is issued after an inspection by a qualified pharmacist or pharmacy, ensuring the ship's medical provisions comply with international standards for seafarer health and safety.

  
  

• Proper Storage and Security: Medications must be stored according to the category and class of medication, including those requiring temperature controlled storage. Controlled drugs (CD) must be locked in a fixed cupboard with restricted access and an up to date CD register maintained.

  
  

• Expiration Management: Implementing a system to ensure the items due to expire first will be used first helps to manage stock and reduce costs. Expired medicines must be withdrawn from use and replaced when they expire, so identifying those due to expire and ordering in plenty of time is important, especially as deliveries can be challenging in some locations - see our earlier blog about ensuring you have enough medication onboard.

  
  

• Appropriate Disposal: Expired or unwanted medicines must be disposed of properly, in accordance with all applicable local, national, and international laws and regulations.

  
  

• Documentation and Record Keeping: All interactions with patients, medication administration and transactions, and expiry checks should be clearly recorded, stored securely and available for inspection. Many vessels use secure electronic patient records, some have online inventory management systems, others use simple Excel spreadsheets. The size and type of vessel and extent of the medical facility onboard will influence the system chosen. But for any vessel or fleet, effective record keeping helps with inventory management and therefore cost control.

  
  

• Regulatory Compliance: Good inventory management helps to ensure that the correct category and quantity of medical stores are onboard, as required by its flag administration and international conventions such as the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). Ships carrying dangerous goods have additional requirements as specified in the Medical First Aid Guide for Use in Accidents Involving Dangerous Goods (MFAG). Check out our previous article about Compliance for everything you need to know about being, and staying, compliant.

  
  

In summary, managing your medical inventory well isn’t just about keeping nice lists. Good inventory management helps to make sure your vessel is compliant with regulation, that you have sufficient and correct medications and equipment for your itinerary or route, and that you are managing costs effectively by accurate ordering and reducing wastage.

If you’d like some help or advice about managing your medical inventory, compliance and resupplies, or would like to request an audit, please get in touch using this form.

Correct storage is part of medical inventory management