High-Level Overview of Inventory Improvements

Owned by Rick Eggleston (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jan 07, 2022 by Andrew Hanneman

Overview

VetView Wiki

Most recent releases of VetView:  Version 5.0.2 and 4.2.8 Hotfix (Released 12/20/2024) 

Alerts and Comments

  1. Alerts can now be associate with the following:
    1. Clients
    2. Episodes
    3. Inventory Transfer Request Items on Backorder
    4. Patients
    5. Pharmacy and Generic Products
    6. Products
    7. Vendors
    8. Vendor Products
  2. Alert Types are now assigned an 'Alert Category', which determines the screen on which the Alert Type appears as an option in the list of values (LOV) when adding an Alert.
  3. Drug Interactions can now be designated as an Alert, and assigned an Alert Type.
  4. Alerts can now be viewed wherever they are relevant.

Alternate IDs

  1. The Lot Number, Serial Number, and NDC Number have been merged into the Product and Inventory 'Alternate ID' functionality.
  2. Users can now define their own Alternate ID Types.
  3. In order to facilitate existing functionality, the User-defined Alternate ID Types can be mapped to, and used in place of, the existing system-defined Lot Number, Serial Number, and NDC Number fields.
  4. The National Drug Code database can now be imported and associated with Products.
  5. Alternate ID Types can also be defined as:
    1. A 'Unique Inventory Attribute' and used for Inventory Aggregation.
    2. A 'Barcode' to be used for Barcode Scanning.
    3. An 'Inventory' Alternate ID Type, to be assigned only to Inventory.
    4. A 'Product' Alternate ID Type to be assigned only to Products.
    5. A 'Prescription' Alternate ID Type to be assigned only to Prescriptions.


ASAQ

  1. The


Barcode Scanning & Printing

  1. Alternate ID Types can be defined as a 'Barcode' to be used for Barcode Scanning & Printing.

Billing Packages

  1. Changes to Billing Packages will now be tracked, and can be viewed via the info icon which accesses the 'Inventory & Product Change Log' popup.
  2. When adding Package Items, access to Multi-Item Components will be restricted.
  3. When the Package Item Unit Price changes, the Item Discount Rate or Item Prepaid Price will not change if it was explicitly set.

Change Logging

  1. Change Logging is now available for the Definition of:
    1. Billing Packages
    2. Control Drug Machine (CDM)
    3. Discount Packages
    4. Drug Profiles
    5. Inventory
    6. Markups
    7. Medical Record Options
    8. Multi-Item Products
    9. Prepaid Packages
    10. Prescriptions
    11. Price Sets
    12. Products
    13. Product Lines
    14. Product Pricing
    15. Product Scales
    16. Tax Categories
    17. Tax Jurisdictions
    18. Tax Regions
    19. Time-of-Service Packages
    20. Vendor-Product Links
  2. Quantity changes are also tracked for:
    1. Inventory
    2. Inventory Transfer Request Items
    3. Purchase Order Items
  3. New popup windows have been made available via info dots throughout VetView:
    1. 'Inventory Transfer Request Item Change Log' wherever Inventory Transfer Request Item Quantities are displayed.
    2. 'Inventory & Product Change Log' wherever Inventory and Products are displayed.
    3. 'Purchase Order Item Change Log' wherever Purchase Order Items are displayed.
  4. New terminology has been introduced to facility the change tracking:

    1. Inventory Transaction Types

      1. In order to capture changes to Inventory Quantities, and the Product and Inventory definitions (LIMS-3042), a set of Inventory Transaction Types have been defined.

    2. Adjustment Types

      1. These Transaction Types have been further broken down into one, or more, Adjustment Types, which are used for Inventory Adjustments that track changes to the Quantities of Inventory, Inventory Transfer Request Items, and Purchase Order Items.

    3. Attributes

      1. The Adjustment Types contain multiple Attributes, which link directly to the properties that define Products and Inventory.

    4. Attribute Groups

      1. The Attributes have been classified into Attribute Groups to facilitate search and viewing functionality.

Defaults

Defaults for various Inventory Management activities and transactions are generally set for the Hospital, Inventory Areas, Products, and User.

Inventory Area - Product Defaults:

  1. Inventory Areas (Hospital Units) are now assigned the following Defaults:
    1. Reorder Quantities:
      1. Critical Quantity
      2. Minimum Quantity
      3. Reorder Quantity
    2. Destination Inventory Area
    3. Destination Inventory Location
    4. Source Inventory Area

Inventory Defaults:

  1. Hospital are now assigned the following Defaults:
    1. ASAQ Defaults:
      1. ASAQ Credit Reversal Adjustment Code & Reason
      2. ASAQ Documents Folder Path
      3. ASAQ Eligible
      4. Default Client Limit
      5. Hospital Limit Amount
      6. Hospital Limit Period
    2. Billing Package Defaults:
      1. Days to Expire TOS Package
      2. Package Item Return Days
    3. Inventory Transfer Defaults:
      1. Hospital Aggregation Tolerance
      2. Hospital Auto-Receive Inventory
      3. Inventory Location Auto-Receive Inventory
      4. Inventory Transfer Request Item Location
      5. Requested By
      6. Transfer Pricing Defaults:
        1. Multiplier
        2. Pricing Method
        3. Pricing Parameter
    4. Purchase Order Defaults:
      1. Charge Account Number
      2. Delivery Contact
      3. Direct Inquiries To
      4. Purchase Order Inventory Area
      5. Purchase Order Item Location
      6. Purchase Order Number Method
      7. Requested By
  2. Inventory Areas (Hospital Units) are now assigned the following Defaults:
    1. Billing Package Defaults:
      1. Days to Expire TOS Package
      2. Package Item Return Days
    2. Inventory Transfer Defaults:
      1. Area Aggregation Tolerance
      2. Inventory Area Auto-Receive Inventory
      3. Inventory Location Auto-Receive Inventory
      4. Inventory Transfer Request Item Location
      5. Requested By
      6. Transfer Pricing Defaults:
        1. Multiplier
        2. Pricing Method
        3. Pricing Parameter
    3. Purchase Order Defaults:
      1. Charge Account Number
      2. Delivery Contact
      3. Direct Inquiries To
      4. Purchase Order Inventory Area
      5. Purchase Order Item Location
      6. Purchase Order Number Method
      7. Requested By

Product Line Defaults:

  1. The following defaults can be assigned to a Product Line:
    1. Product Category
    2. Product Type
    3. Service Unit
  2. When a new Product is created, and the Product Line is selected, the Product Category, Product Type, and Service Unit will be set by the default values.

User / Purchase Order Defaults:

  1. The User will be assigned default values to be used when they create a new Purchase Order.
    1. Default Inventory Area
    2. Shipping Department
    3. Building
    4. Room

Documents

  1. Documents can now be associated with:
    1. Billing Packages
    2. Vendors
  2. On the 'Product Info' screen, the 'Disclosures' subtab will provide the ability to attach Documents relevant to a Billing Package, such as disclosures.
  3. On the 'Vendor Info' screen, the 'Documents' tab will provide the ability to attach Documents relevant to a Vendor, such as scanned contracts, business cards, their preferred purchase order format, etc.
  4. Like other Document Management screens in VetView, Users will have the ability to alter the name of the document, and include a brief document description.
  5. The Last Modified Date, Last Modified By, Date Added, and Add By will be captured automatically.

Duplicate Product

  • Products can be duplicated to create new Products with slight differences.
  • The properties of the existing Product can be selectively copied to the new Product:
  • Product
    • Product Details
    • Pricing
    • Service Fees & Add-Ons
    • Product Details
    • Inventory Area Product Defaults
    • Synonyms
    • Alternate IDs
    • ASAQ Information
    • CDM Settings
    • Comments & Alerts
    • Medical Record Options
  • Packages:
    • Time of Service
    • Prepaid
    • Discount
    • Multi-Item
  • Prescription Setup:
    • Drug Information
    • Drug Profiles
    • Draft Terms
    • Generics
    • Auxiliary Labels
    • Interactions & Warnings

Episode Type Discounts

  1. Episode Type (or Visit Type) Discounts can be defined via the 'Hospital Setup' screen → 'Episode Type Setup' tab → 'Episode Type Discounts' subtab.
    1. Episode Type Discounts are defined by:
      1. Client Type
      2. Episode Type
      3.  Product Type
    2. Discounts are created using a Discount Method, Discount Parameter, and/or ('Markup') Multiplier.
      1. Discount Methods:
        1. Cost or Price Only:
          1. The Invoice Price is simply the Actual Sales Cost or Pricing Basis amount with no other product discounts applied.
        2. Cost or Price + Amount:
          1. The Discount Parameter is an Amount to be added to the Actual Sales Unit Cost or Pricing Basis.
        3. Cost or Price x Multiplier:
          1. The Actual Sales Unit Cost or Pricing Basis is multiplied by an active Markup Multiplier, or Multiplier entered as the Discount Parameter.
        4. Cost or Price + %:
          1. The Actual Sales Unit Cost or Pricing Basis is multiplied by 1 plus the Discount Parameter.
          2. The Discount Parameter is entered as a discount rate, which is a decimal number less than 1.
    3. Discount Credit Adjustments are posted using the Credit Adjustment Code and Reason assigned to the Episode Type Discount.
    4. When Discount Credit Adjustments are reversed, a Discount Debit Adjustment is posted using the Debit Adjustment Code and Reason assigned to the Episode Type Discount.

Inventory Adjustments

  1. As part of the Product and Inventory Change Logging, Inventory Adjustments have been added to track the changes that affect the Quantities of:
    1. Inventory
    2. Inventory Transfer Request Items
    3. Purchase Order Items
  2. Adjustment Codes and Reasons are now associated with Inventory Adjustments.
  3. New popup windows have been made available via info dots throughout VetView:
    1. 'Inventory Transfer Request Item History' wherever Inventory Transfer Request Items are displayed.
    2. 'Inventory Adjustment Details' have been provided wherever Inventory is displayed.
  4. The 'Inventory Reconciliation & Adjustment' screen search criteria, and list of Inventory Items, can be saved for each User.

Inventory Aggregation

  1. Using the Unique Inventory Attributes, Inventory will now be Aggregated to eliminate the duplication of Inventory line items that share the same Unique Inventory Attributes.
  2. During the Inventory Aggregation process, Inventory will be aggregated if the Unique Inventory Attributes are the same.

Inventory Locations and Quantity

  1. The definition of Inventory Locations is now based on a hierarchical structure.
  2. A Quantity of Inventory can now exist in multiple Inventory Locations.
  3. Inventory can be moved among Inventory Locations, within the Inventory Area, with varying Quantities. 
  4. Reconciliation & Adjustment of Inventory will now happen at the Inventory Location level.
  5. Adjustments to Inventory Quantities will now require an Adjustment Code and Reason.
  6. It is now possible to 'Auto-Receive Inventory' at the Hospital, Inventory Area, and Inventory Location level.
    1. Inventory Areas can be configured to inherit this property from its parent Inventory Area, or the Hospital.
    2. Inventory Locations can be configured to inherit this property from its parent Inventory Location, or its parent Inventory Area.

Inventory Transfer Pricing & Accounting

  1. Inventory Transfer Accounting provides the ability to:
    1. Establish Product Pricing Rules for the Transfer of Inventory among Inventory Areas (Hospital Units).
      1. Pricing Method:
        1. The method used to establish the price that will be charged for Inventory that is Transferred from the Source Inventory Area to the Destination Inventory Area.
        2. The available Pricing Methods are: 
          1. Cost Only: Prices for items transferred from the Source Inventory Area will be based on the Actual Cost (as specified on the 'Product Information' screen) only.
          2. Cost + Amount: Prices for items transferred from the Source Inventory Area will be based on the Actual Cost (as specified on the 'Product Information' screen), plus a Flat Amount.
          3. Cost X Multiplier: Prices for items transferred from the Source Inventory Area will be based on the Actual Cost (as specified on the 'Product Information' screen) multiplied by an Active Markup Multiplier (configured on the 'Product Setup' screen - 'Markup Setup' tab); or, by a Multiplier entered as the Pricing Parameter (refer to the definition of 'Pricing Parameter').
          4. Cost + %: Prices for items transferred from the Source Inventory Area will be based on the Actual Cost (as specified on the 'Product Information' screen), plus a percentage of the Actual Cost.
          5. Price Only: Prices for items transferred from the Source Inventory Area will be based on the Pricing Basis (as specified on the 'Product Information' screen) only.
          6. Price + Amount: Prices for items transferred from the Source Inventory Area will be based on the Pricing Basis (as specified on the 'Product Information' screen), plus a Flat Amount.
          7. Price X Multiplier: Prices for items transferred from the Source Inventory Area will be based on the Pricing Basis (as specified on the 'Product Information' screen) multiplied by an Active Markup Multiplier (configured on the 'Product Setup' screen - 'Markup Setup' tab); or, by a Multiplier entered as the Pricing Parameter (refer to the definition of 'Pricing Parameter').
          8. Price + %: Prices for items transferred from the Source Inventory Area will be based on the Pricing Basis (as specified on the 'Product Information' screen) plus a percentage of the Pricing Basis.
        3. The default Pricing Method can be specified for a Source Inventory Area (Hospital Unit).  The Default Pricing Method will be used if the Source/Destination/Product Line combination is not found.
      2. Pricing Parameter:
        1. Depending on the Pricing Method, the Pricing Parameter will be one of the following:
          1. Blank
          2. Flat Dollar Amount
          3. Percentage
          4. Multiplier
        2. The Pricing Parameter will be applied by the Pricing Method rule.
        3. The default Pricing Parameter can be specified for a Source Inventory Area (Hospital Unit).  The Default Pricing Method will be used if the Source/Destination/Product Line combination is not found.
    2. Establish and track Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable among the Inventory Areas (Hospital Units).

Inventory Transfers

  1. The Inventory Transfer Request is no longer the focus of the Inventory Transfer Process - the Inventory Transfer Request Item is.
  2. Inventory Transfer Request Items are 'Ordered', 'Shipped' and 'Received'.
    1. This replaces the 'Requested', 'Transfer Out' and 'Transfer In' transactions in order to standardize similar transactions with Purchase Orders.
  3. In the past, Inventory Transfer Request Items were associated with, and expected to remain with, Inventory Transfer Requests.  In reality, Inventory Transfer Request Items are independent items; therefor, they should be managed as independent items.  They are still introduced into the Inventory Transfer Process via the Inventory Transfer Request; however, once they are 'Ordered', they will be managed as items that can then be regrouped and Shipped, then Received.
  4. The Inventory Transfer screens have search functionality that provides the User the ability to Ship and Receive Inventory Transfer Request Items.
  5. Inventory Transfer Process:
    1. The 'Inventory Transfer Request Search' screen is used to initiate the Inventory Transfer Process, and access the 'Inventory Transfer Request' screen.
      1. This screen is accompanied by the 'Inventory Transfer Request Items' report.
    2. The 'Inventory Transfer Request' screen is used to 'Order' Inventory Transfer Request Items.
      1. This screen is accompanied by the 'Inventory Transfer Request' report, and the 'Inventory Transfer Request Picklist' dialog.
    3. The 'Inventory Transfer' screen is used to 'Ship' Inventory Transfer Request Items and make Adjustments to Inventory Transfer Request Items that have been Received with Excess, Missing, or Returned Quantities. 
      1. This screen is accompanied by the 'Inventory Transfer' form, 'Inventory Transfer Request Item Adjustments' dialog, and the 'Inventory Transfer Request Shopping List' report.
    4. The 'Inventory Transfer Receiving' screen is used to 'Receive' Inventory Transfer Request Items.
      1. This screen is accompanied by the 'Inventory Transfer Receiving' form.
    5. The 'Inventory Transfer Accounting' screen is used to search and view Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable information resulting from Inventory Transfers between Inventory Areas that track Inventory Transfer Income and Expenses.
    6. The 'Inventory Transaction Search' screen is used to search for Inventory Transfer Request Items, and view their Inventory Transfer Request Item History.
  6. There are Default Settings that impact Inventory Transfers:
    1. Hospital Defaults
    2. Inventory Location Defaults
    3. Product Defaults
  • Reorder Quantities
    • Reorder Quantities are configured at two levels:
      • Inventory Area Product Defaults:
        • To be applied when Products are ordered on a Purchase Order or Inventory Transfer Request.
      • Product Defaults:
        • To be used if Reorder Quantities have not been configured for the Destination Inventory Area.
    • Reorder Quantities consist of:
      • Critical Quantity:
        • This quantity is not used in the calculation of the 'Needed Quantity'.  It is used as an indicator of the absolute minimum (critical) quantity.
      • Minimum Stock Quantity:
        • This is the minimum quantity needed on hand for the Inventory Area; and, the point at which the Product should be ordered - when the Available Quantity reaches the Minimum Stock Quantity, the Needed Quantity should be ordered.
        • Available Quantity:
          • This is the quantity of the Product on hand in the Inventory Area.
      • Reorder Quantity:
        • This is the quantity used to determine the 'Needed Quantity'.
        • Needed Quantity = Minimum Quantity + Reorder Quantity - Available Quantity.

Multi Item Products

  1. Multi Item Products can now be

Picklists

  1. Picklists can now be defined for one of more of the following functions:
    1. Billing
    2. Estimates
    3. Hospital Requests
    4. Inventory Transfer Requests
    5. Night Cart
    6. Product Reorders
    7. Purchase Orders
  2. The combination of Privileges and Assigned Hospital Units will restrict which the User's ability to access Picklists. 

Product Scales

  1. Product Scales can now be defined for one of the following Basis:
    1. Amount: The Discount Adjustment will be based on the Invoice Price of the Product or Service.
    2. Quantity: The Discount Adjustment will be based on the total Quantity of a Product or Service.
    3. Rx Days Supplied: The Discount Adjustment will be based on the Rx Days Supplied for a Prescription.
  2. Product Scales are now assigned a Credit Adjustment Code and Reason, to be used for the Discount Adjustment resulting from the application of the scale when a Product or Service is purchased.

Tags

  1. Tags can now be defined and used as search criteria for:
    1. Purchase Orders
    2. Inventory Transfer Requests
    3. Vendors
  2. Tags are assigned a Tag Type which limits their availability to Inventory Transfer Requests, Purchase Orders, or Vendors.
  3. Tags may be assigned to a specific Hospital Unit, which limits access to the Tags based on the Inventory Area associated with the Inventory Transfer Request, or Purchase Order - this does not affect the Vendor Tags.

Taxes

  1. Tax Jurisdictions are now assigned Credit and Debit Adjustment Codes and Reasons that will be used when the system automatically posts Tax Exemption Credits, or Tax Exemption Reversal Debits.

Vendors & Contracts

Contracts

  1. Vendor Contracts are now assigned a Termination Date.

Vendors

  1. Comments & Alerts can now be attached to a Vendor.
  2. Documents can now be attached to a Vendor.