CME Insider's Blog Posts

Capital equipment can be thought of as costly equipment that can help generate income.  What is most important is that the equipment should help the hospital deliver exceptional quality of patient care over an extended period of time.

It does not take much strength to do things,
but it requires a great deal of strength to decide what to do.
- Elbert Hubbard

When you’re about to begin planning a project to develop a primary care facility, you may divide that project into phases.  One of those phases will likely be supplies and equipment provision/acquisition.  

If you’re in charge of medical equipment procurement, you already know what the basic minimum equipment should include, so here’s a short – and by no means complete – basic list:

Buying equipment is not easy. There needs to be extensive research, at times, to find the right product that meets the needs of the users, fits the space, and communicates with the healthcare facility’s EMR, if required. Once you find the right products, whether it is for replacement or a new construction project, you need a timely, comprehensive quote that includes total costs.

After the horror of dealing with coronavirus these past few years, hand hygiene has been magnified worldwide. Everyone learned how to wash their hands efficiently and to wash OFTEN.

Along with good hand hygiene, healthcare systems are looking to enhance their infection prevention programs. They realize good hand hygiene is not enough when it comes to airborne transmissible viruses. Healthcare facilities had already begun to add UV-C technology and other innovative ways to augment the fight against Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), but COVID-19 accelerated these efforts.

Your equipment planning will have a huge impact on the efficiency and efficacy of your medical examination rooms.  You want to ensure you have everything you need at your fingertips to make seeing patients easier, and to also allow for quicker assessments in order to see as many patients as possible, while still providing optimal care.

COVID-19 has profoundly changed the point of care, challenging healthcare systems, practices, and providers to think differently about the healthcare experience and the delivery of care.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has become a conventional material in the healthcare industry.  From flexible tubing to device components, PVC has found its way into various applications. While some view the material as beneficial to the industry, it does not come without controversy. One major pain point rests with the fact there is no known safe way to produce or dispose of PVC products. Even worse, when PVC is broken down, hydrogen chloride gas and dioxin are released, both of which are hazardous chemicals.

Being aware of non-PVC options should be a priority for planners and purchasers as they design and gather equipment and supplies for projects. Building a sustainable and eco-friendly institution starts with setting a solid foundation, and companies are now offering PVC-free versions of popular products, including upholstery and furnishing elements.

As COVID-19 vaccines continue to be administered, health care systems and other entities are scrambling to build new vaccination sites. Whether repurposing existing space or building from the ground up, equipment needed for these sites must be specified, approved, ordered, assembled, and delivered quickly and efficiently. Associates at CME Corp, a national healthcare equipment distributor, are experts in capital equipment, logistics and technical services.

What’s the difference between a purpose-built pharmaceutical-grade refrigerator and a common dorm or household refrigerator picked up at the local big box store? The CDC gives very clear guidance in their Vaccine Storage and Handling Tool Kit about why these style units are never acceptable.