Visit any Fire Department or EMS Agency in the country and there is a good chance you will find very limited accountability and control over the agencies medical supplies and company assets.  This is not without great effort as all agencies have processes in place to ensure they have ample supply on hand, that vehicles are ready for service and company assets are accounted for and in working condition.  The problem agencies are finding are these processes are archaic, managed with paper check sheets  and logs, and lack report tools to facilitate decision making.  As a result, agencies have real problems managing their inventory and holding employees and volunteers accountable for their role in the process. 

Realizing this growing need, EMS Technology Solutions has spent the last 3 years working with Fire Departments and EMS Agencies to develop the first inventory and asset management tool kit designed specifically for the Fire and EMS market.  Ambutrak is now in use across the country helping agencies control their inventory costs, reduce service interruptions and drive accountability.  It has been called “a god send” and the “best thing to hit EMS since the defibrillator”.  With so many happy customers it is certainly noteworthy to see what makes Ambutrak different from retail and warehouse inventory tools and how it is helping Fire Departments and EMS Agencies make strides in their business.

To start with Ambutrak was designed from the beginning specifically around the processes in place at Fire Departments and EMS Agencies today.  Therefore you can easily implement Ambutrak with minimal process change. 

Supply Managers whether they are full time, or volunteer are saving time and reducing inventory costs by using Ambutrak.  It helps them know how much inventory they have on their shelves, what the average usage is for a given period of time and what to order to maintain appropriate supply levels.  Ambutrak even helps supply managers create purchase orders based on predetermined reorder points and PAR levels.  These purchase orders can easily been sent to suppliers and used when receiving shipments for added accuracy.   Ambutrak also gives the supply manager insight in to the inventory in outlying stations and on service vehicles.  This allows them to identify expiring medications, locate equipment in need of service and fill supply requests to ensure the agency is ready for service. 

EMTs and Paramedics use Ambutrak to perform station and vehicle inspections.  The inspection process enables them to verify inventory levels and make supply requisitions to supply rooms for fulfillment.  They can report on the maintenance condition of stations and vehicles while providing notification of areas that are in need of service directly to supervisors.  For agencies using electronic patient care reporting, Ambutrak can also capture and report on the supplies used in administering care.  Since all actions taken by crew members are recorded with a name and a time stamp Ambutrak provides unsurpassed accountability.

Operations Managers love the benefits that an electronic inventory and asset management tool provides.  With Ambutrak’s reporting engine, managers can easily see how much inventory is currently on hand and review usage patterns down to the individual item or crew member.  They can quickly identify service issues with vehicles, equipment and monitor the expiration dates on medications.  Since Ambutrak provides for report scheduling they can do all their monitoring without having to login and retrieve their data.  Once scheduled, key reports are conveniently delivered to their email inbox for review.  This is also a great feature for agencies that want to repurpose data collected for other functions such as accounting or scheduling of service calls with third party vendors.  All of which provides greater accountability and control while reducing ordering costs, inventory costs and service interruptions.

Since Ambutrak’s software is provided as a service, IT Managers are not burdened with the cost and maintenance of expensive servers.  And since Ambutrak is web based they don’t have to install costly software on individual computers.  It also makes the deployment scalable from a small Fire Department to a large EMS Agency with hundreds of ambulances. 

If you are interested in learning more about Ambutrak you can schedule an online demonstration by going to www.ambutrak.com or calling 877-217-3707.

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About eCore Software – eCore Software Inc. has been a leading provider of HR management and scheduling solutions for Public Service industry operations such as EMS companies, fire departments, hospitals and police departments since 1998.

Visit http://www.eCoreSoftware.com today to request an online demonstration

Most EMS agencies only realize what their expenses are when it comes to inventory. Out of necessity many EMS agencies are now being forced to do what other industries have done for years, “provide more with less”. By implementing LEAN manufacturing processes coupled with electronic inventory software management, agencies are seeing 40-50% decreases in inventory costs.

One of the leaders in providing an EMS specific inventory management software solution is EMS Technology Solutions (ETS). ETS was contracted in 2005 to build a customized solution for Puckett EMS, based in Austell, Georgia. In 2007, ETS released AmbuTRAK, a web based inventory management solution designed for Fire and EMS agencies. “Puckett EMS started getting calls from other agencies that wanted a solution that would work for them and was affordable to use, so we started working on a web based solution that met the needs of what agencies needed”, says ETS President Shane Garrison, “I think the thing that appeals to most users of the AmbuTrak solution is that it’s so easy to use. As a general rule, inventory software has always been really difficult to manage and very expensive to implement. For most EMS agencies they can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars on expensive software and hardware and smaller agencies never could afford the implementation cost. That’s the beauty of AmbuTrak, because its web-based software, most people already have the hardware that they need. The software is based off of the total number of licenses you require. Our smallest customer has 3 ambulances and our largest customer has 110 ambulances.”

Since the first software license sold back in 2007, not one customer has been lost. They have over 800 licenses and forecast a double in size for 2009. “We are fanatical about the service we provide our customers. Our technical support team is amazing, they know how important each and every customer is and they go out of their way to make sure that they are happy with the software. I make sure each customer has my direct line and cell phone number, if they don’t feel like they’re being taken care of by our support team; I want them to know that they can always call me directly and I’ll make sure that they are taken care of.”

Besides providing a robust supply room management feature that includes bar code scanning and purchase order management, AmbuTRAK also provides a Fixed Asset Manager and a Check In-Check Out Manager. “We provide much more than just standard warehouse inventory management software”, says Garrison, “AmbuTRAK provides solutions that are common for this specific industry. Our customers shape the software based on what they need, their feedback is critical to making sure we’re always on the cutting edge.”

Since they started selling the AmbuTrak solution, ETS has never required any of its customers to sign an upfront payment schedule. Customers pay as they go each month. Their philosophy is that if they are providing quality software, coupled with great customer service and affordable prices, customers will stay.

- Shane Garrison, Vice-President, Puckett EMS

See how Puckett EMS is using Inmotion OMG and AmbuTrak to increase the efficiency of their field operation.

eCore Rolls Out Integrated AmbuTRAK Inventory Software Interface

DALLAS, TX August 5, 2008 – eCore Software is pleased to announce the successful integration of eCore Software’s ePro Manager record management system with EMS Technology Solutions, LLC’s AmbuTRAK, a full featured EMS inventory management software package. The integration marks the first functionally coupled interface using the Secure Data Exchange (SDE) software, eCore’s generic vendor interface package that allows our web-based products to easily integrate with other vendor software.