In particular, events involving materials consumption are
ranked from the least traceable to the most (the
independent variable) as follows: low cost and genericgoods
usage (by definition untraceable), materials employed for
examinations (traceable if the information system
provides this feature), materials dispense (not traceable
when it comes to administration because it is performed
at the patient’s home) and materials
administration/implant (traceable until the end of the
process, because the usage of an identified material, with
its characteristics, expiration date, batch number, etc., can
be fully recorded). The other axis shows the materials
requirements programmability, which goes from the
possibility only to forecast the consumption of some
materials in a period of time, to the highest probability
that a particular consumption is going to take place in a
specific moment. The diagram shows activities
concerning patient care.