Member Article

Choosing the Best Patient Monitoring Devices and Accessories

Because of the increasing demand, the selection for medical monitoring devices and accessories continues to grow. This has become an advantage to professionals and facilities in the medical field, as the growing number of options means that every medical need can be met. However, this also means that choosing the right patient monitors and their accessories has become more complicated than ever.

Choosing the right equipment for your medical practice will take a lot of time and research. Effort in doing so could be put in vain is metrics are not properly followed. Since you expect it to operate for a long time, the right thing to do is to invest in tools and devices that will also maintain its functions efficiently over a period of time. Before making that final purchase, here are a few crucial things to take into consideration:

The size of the healthcare facility

It is important to consider the size of your clinic or healthcare facility first before deciding on what type of patient monitors to purchase. Or at least, plan ahead for its size and visualize how it grows. Aside from this, plan how you can easily do the transition for the next years. If you are running a large facility, it might be a necessity to choose an extensive patient monitor network. Meanwhile, a smaller practice may only need a few patient monitors. But even if you’re only running a neighborhood clinic, you might still want to consider purchasing a patient monitor with networking features, especially if you have plans on expanding your practice and catering to more patient needs.

The type of medical practice

Patient monitoring devices come in various types depending on the patient’s needs. With this, it is best to initially consider the type of medical practice that you are working in. A medical monitoring system may be equipped with features and functions for emergent conditions. In this case, the device can be more of a benefit for an urgent care facility. On the other hand, there might be patient monitoring equipment that specifically cater only to patients with chronic conditions, which will fit a neighborhood wellness center perfectly.

While this is so, it may still be more advantageous to invest in a comprehensive patient monitoring system that can keep track of different health parameters and detect a wide range of medical conditions. Not only does it allow your practice to cater to various types of patients, having more advanced medical technology also helps your facility to excel amid competition in your area, making your clinic on top of their choice. Moreover, patients always trust their health to clinics or facilities that are able to keep up with the times in terms of medical advancements.

Patient monitoring system in the operating room

When used in the operating room, the patient monitoring system may have to be equipped with more advanced technology and features, as its functions will depend upon the type of procedures that will be performed and the patient’s needs during the operation. If general anesthesia is needed for the patient during surgery, choose a monitor that features an anesthesia gas/agent analysis. With this function, the patient’s end-tidal CO2 , as well as the amount of anesthesia gas that the patient has exhaled throughout the procedure, will be measured and monitored.

It may be more efficient to purchase an all-in-one monitor that not only has an anesthetic gas analysis feature, but also an ECG with ECG cables and leadwires as well as SPO2, EtCO2, and NIBP monitoring features. In this environment, it also helps to choose a device with an internal recorder. Other options to consider when picking an operating room patient monitor are those with additional features such as temperature inputs and invasive blood pressure.

Generally, patient monitoring systems include blood-oxygen saturation detection, end-tidal carbon dioxide sensors, and anesthetic agent analysis, among others. Before making your purchase, always make sure that you are aware of its features, while taking into consideration your patient’s and facility’s needs. This greatly make the monitoring system accurate and efficient.

The cost of your purchase

Although you only want to deliver the best medical care for your patients through your healthcare facility, the cost of your investments is still often a huge factor for any business. As much as possible, healthcare professionals and entrepreneurs will want to purchase the right equipment at its lowest cost. Considering this understandable concern, make sure to research a lot about manufacturers of patient monitors and accessories and their reputation in the industry. It helps to purchase directly from a provider to obtain the equipment at a lesser cost. Although it’s a plus to cut on your operational costs, at the end of the day, it is the quality of the device—with all its technology advancements and state-of-the-art features—that will be of most importance to your practice.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Connie Simpson .