Hospitals and long-term care facilities are entrusted with the care of people who cannot care for themselves for one reason or another. In a perfect world the ratio of caregivers to patients would be one-to-one. But the world is not perfect.
Caregivers care for multiple patients including some who should not reposition themselves without assistance. To help monitor all patients, even when attending a single patient, staff rely on patient alarms.
It is no secret the medical equipment sales process can be long and complex. Planning equipment purchases for timely delivery is important for healthcare facilities, like hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, who work to maintain high quality patient care.
But what about planning capital medical equipment purchases for new hospital construction or renovation projects? When should discussions around medical equipment begin?
The Joint Commission (TJC) is the oldest medical standards regulatory agency in the United States making and maintaining accreditation by TJC highly esteemed and sought after by healthcare organizations. To maintain accreditation, healthcare facilities are inspected at least once every three years to ensure that TJC standards are continuously being met.
Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your perspective, there is an increasing trend toward using more plastic medical equipment in healthcare. For medical facilities laboring under escalating costs at every turn and labor shortages, lightweight, cost-effective, and, in many cases disposable, plastic is the golden goose for the challenges keeping administrators up at night.
In the short term, disposable plastic medical equipment may indeed ease burdens on staff and budgets, but is it the best for the long term? Sustainability advocates would answer with a resounding “NO” and answers among healthcare professionals are variable and often dependent on the equipment in question.
Despite the trend toward more plastic in healthcare, stainless steel still plays a leading role in healthcare equipment. And for good reason.
It is unfathomable to imagine some medical equipment constructed of anything other than stainless steel.
As the byproduct of life saving lasers, electrosurgical processes, radiofrequency devices, hyfrecators, ultrasonic scalpels and other power tools, wisps of surgical smoke hanging in the air represent hope and healing for patients.
For OR staff surgical smoke is an aerosol of bacteria, viruses, carcinogenic and mutagenic cells, ocular irritations, and respiratory hazards.
Medical refrigerators are important pieces of equipment for hospitals, pharmacies, and other medical facilities. They offer a cold storage environment for vaccines and medical products sensitive to temperature.
Although on the surface a refrigerator seems to be a refrigerator, in the healthcare environment not all medical refrigerators are appropriate for all applications.
Invented in 1867, the medical thermometer is still one of the most widely used medical devices in healthcare. Since the accuracy and reliability of the temperature reading depends on the temperature measuring point used, choosing the right thermometer for your healthcare setting is important.
Even in a medical setting seconds matter in an emergency.
Properly organized crash cart contents can tip the balance between life and death.
With that in mind this article has been created for the purpose of offering recommendations for crash cart setup and providing a comprehensive crash cart checklist of medical equipment, medications, and supplies.
Capital medical equipment, equipment that is neither disposable nor consumable, is used daily in the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions.
It is a significant investment. It is considered an asset. It contributes to the long-term profitability of healthcare facilities.
Choosing and vetting capital medical equipment can be stressful and all consuming, but it does not need to be.
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