When opening a clinic whether it be on a small or large scale, lots of tasks needs to be done. From recruiting the right doctors to hiring competent staff, these are some of the things done when opening a clinic. However, there is an important element that should be considered. Without this element, the clinic wouldn’t be able to function properly. This element is the clinic equipment. While choosing the right and best clinic equipment can be daunting, it is actually not that hard. There are a lot of tips on choosing the right clinic equipment. This article will further elaborate and guide you ambitious doctors out there wanting to open a clinic.
Finding tips on choosing the right clinic equipment isn’t that hard. Clinic equipment is very important in every clinic. This equipment is equipment that are intended to be used for medical purposes. It benefits both patients and doctors on treating diseases and illness and make it easier to handle patients. Clinic equipment also helps doctors diagnose and treat patients so that they can overcome their sickness. This is why it is important when wanting to choose the right clinic equipment.
Importance of choosing the right equipment
Choosing the right clinic equipment is crucial in having a good clinic. Sometimes, choosing the right clinic equipment can be a very hard task to do. This is due to different factors. It might be because the person opening the clinic is relatively new and does not have any medical knowledge. Another factor may be due to the wide range of equipment to choose in the market. In fact, the latest technology has flooded the market with different types of new equipment to choose from. Hence, choosing the right clinic equipment for your clinic needs to be done carefully.
There are a lot of things to consider when investing in clinic equipment. Do bear in mind that clinic equipment is often expensive and high in price. While people think that they should only invest in equipment created by leading brands, this is not always the case. It is very important for you to do research before choosing the right clinic equipment.
Tips on choosing the right clinic equipment can fall into special categories (ex: choosing the right X-Ray). However, there are a few general tips that you need to follow first. Here are a few general guidelines and tips on choosing the right clinic equipment.
Make a Comprehensive List
The first and most important step of choosing the right clinic equipment is to create a list of equipment needed. You need to consider a couple of things when doing this. What kind of clinic are you opening? How big of a clinic is it? Does it require a lot of equipment? Through these questions you can that derive the list of clinic equipment that you need to buy. This equipment list should be created by listing the most important equipment needed for your clinic. The list should be comprehensive so that you won’t buy an equipment that you will eventually not use in the future. Clinic equipment is considerably expensive. Hence, you do not want to waste all that money for an equipment that will be left unused. By creating a list, you will be able to prioritize the equipment you need to buy.
The Quality of The Equipment
It is IMPORTANT to have a clinic equipment that is high quality and will function properly any time. After all, you will be dealing with human lives that must be saved and treated. Therefore, quality is everything when it comes to investing in clinic equipment. It is not worth doubling down on the quality of the equipment just to save a few bucks.
Choosing a high-quality clinic equipment means purchasing a clinic equipment with high durability. This means that the equipment is capable of being used multiple times without wearing off and deteriorating quickly.
Another parameter on choosing a high-quality clinic equipment is to choose it from a reputable supplier. A reputable supplier will have a wide range of equipment for you to select from. This means you can traverse around the options and choose the one with the best quality. Aside from that, a reputable supplier usually documents the specifications of their products and equipment. This means that you as a customer can easily identify a quality product and purchase it at hindsight.
Request for Warranty Details
Due to the cost of these equipment, having a warranty is very important. If by any chance the equipment malfunctions or breaks, you can request a new one. To do this, you need to request for warranty details. This can be done right after purchasing the equipment. Always request the specifics of the product warranty to your supplier/manufacturer. Do refrain buying the equipment from suppliers/manufacturers that refuse to give you warrant – even if the prices are attractive. It is never a good option to buy a clinic equipment twice.
Physical Inspection
As time progresses and technological advancements follow suit, online platforms are used by suppliers to showcase their equipment. This eliminates the need for physical visits. While that sounds convenient, it is not always the case. Most of the times this equipment might not be in proper condition or even dented. This can cause future buyers to be tricked into buying a broken or low-quality equipment.
This is why physical inspection is always recommended when buying clinic equipment. While you can always browse the catalogues online, always do physical inspection before actually buying it. This will hinder unwanted problems such as low-quality equipment and other things out of our control.
Technical Expertise of Suppliers
While some doctors and clinic staff have the finesse to operate the equipment, not all know how to fix it. This is where the technical expertise of suppliers come to play. Before buying clinic equipment from a supplier, you have to make sure they have the technical expertise. It means that they have the ability to fix and troubleshoot problems that might arise in the equipment. Sometimes, you might want to call in a technician to fix the problems – and not all suppliers provide them. This is why choosing suppliers with proper technical expertise is essential, if possible.
Benchmarking
Last on the general tips on choosing the right clinic equipment is to do benchmarking. When you are feeling gray and indecisive on which equipment you need to buy, you can do benchmarking. This is done by visiting clinics that might be the same as yours. After that, you conduct surveys on what kinds of equipment they have. This might give you a general idea on the equipment that you have to buy for your clinic.
While those are just general guidelines, there are more specific categories on choosing the right equipment. This is due to the fact that different equipment requires different prerequisites and have different parameters of quality. For example, the standard of choosing the right X-Ray is different to that of choosing the right infusion set. This means that you have to follow certain specific guidelines when choosing the right equipment.
Before jumping to the specific tips on choosing the right equipment, we need to establish the most general set of equipment in a clinic. This might vary depending on what kind of clinic you will operate. However, the equipment listed here will be generally found in every clinic.
The first and most important clinic equipment will be the general ones. These are equipment like bandages, gloves, stethoscopes, antibacterial wipes, syringes, and ointments. The equipment here are important to treat light injuries or even diagnosing a complaint of a patient. Other includes hospital bed, AED defibrillators, infusion set, X-Ray equipment, medical ventilator and ambulance. The equipment listed is also important to treat patients ranging from normal to serious needs of treatments. Before purchasing the equipment, you need to follow specific guidelines on choosing the right equipment. Below are some tips on choosing the right specific clinic equipment.
General Clinic Equipment
Starting off, you need to be able to choose the right general clinic equipment. Mentioned above, these are equipment like bandages, gloves, stethoscopes, antibacterial wipes, syringes, and ointments. Choosing the equipment isn’t that hard of a task but still requires you to be selective. When choosing bandages, you need to find an adhesive one.
Aside from that, choose the one that will be able to stop and cover a scar or cut. When choosing gloves, be sure that you find gloves that are sterile. Be sure to find gloves that are made out of latex for flexibility and ease. When choosing stethoscopes, you must be more selective. Choosing the right stethoscope requires you to test it. How much can you hear? Or how loud can you hear? How frequent can you hear?
You must choose the stethoscope that provides to you the most sounds you can hear when examining the patient’s chest. When choosing antibacterial wipes, choose the one that is most sterile and are able to kill the most germs. When choosing the right syringe, choose the one that has different needle lengths for different circumstances. Lastly, when it comes to ointments, it is more flexible. Most of the time, you need ointments based on what kind of injury your patient has.
Hospital Bed
A hospital bed is important in every clinic. This ensure that when a patient needs intensive care they can rest and recover properly. These hospital beds come in different types and forms. Hospital beds can be broken down into three options to choose from. Those three options are manual bed, semi-electric bed and a full electric bed. For clinics, we recommend going for the manual bed.
While mostly lacking electrical adjustment, these beds still allow users to adjust the positions of the head/foot sections. This can be done using a hand crank. These beds are often cheaper as opposed to their electric counterparts. However, the lack of electric adjustment is one of its drawbacks. Though for a clinic, such electrical adjustments are not necessary. Expanded intensive care will be done in hospitals – and clinics are just there to temporarily treat the patients.
AED Defibrillators
AED (Automated External Defibrillators) is also an important equipment to have in a clinic. If a patient suddenly has a cardiac arrest, then AEDs needs to be utilized immediately. A lot of things come to play when choosing the right AED. Before purchasing an AED, you should know the cost of the AED pads and battery. You should also know how often you have to buy both. Aside from that, its durability and warranty length should also be considered. Its ease of use which allows everyone to operate it in an emergency should also be accounted.
Infusion Set
An infusion set connects the insulin pump delivery device to a patient’s body. An infusion set is important to have in a clinic if a patient needs immediate care. There are a few factors to consider when wanting to purchase an infusion set. It mostly needs to be suited to your patient’s needs. You need to determine whether you want to invest in a fixed or flexible cannula.
While fixed cannula is made of steel and will not bend or break, it causes discomfort in the patients. The same goes for flexible cannulas. It is mostly flexible and is easy to break but does not cause discomfort. However, for simple clinic care, going for the flexible cannula is better. It is way cheaper. Moreover, for a simple clinic care, a fixed cannula is much less needed compared to the flexible one.
X-Ray
Having an X-Ray in your clinic is important to troubleshoot and diagnose a patient with bone complaints. Whether they dislocated their bone or fractured it, X-Ray will help diagnose it. Before choosing the right X-Ray for your clinic, you need to consider two things.
Firstly, is its Automatic Exposure Control. Commonly known as AEC, it is a feature that enables you to automatically shoot an image. The image shot is at the kV and mA power. This enables the image shot to be filled with exposure. This means that the bones shown will be clearer to the eyes. The next thing to consider is the image quality. While this does not really matter, in some circumstances it does. If you are inspecting on the chest or abdomen, it requires you to have a better image quality.
Medical Ventilator
Having a medical ventilator at your clinic is important. In the direst situations, patients might require a medical ventilator in order for them to keep breathing. While most medical ventilators function the same, there are a few considerations to make before purchasing one. The first is the cost of containment. Most of medical ventilators carry with them maintenance and operational costs. Sometimes, it might be expensive trying to fix and operate it.
Therefore, you need to consider the cost before buying one. Another factor to consider is its quality. Medical ventilators are important on keeping a patient alive and helping them breathe. Therefore, choosing the best quality is crucial. The ventilator should be able to offer assist/control and SIMV modes. For volume and pressure-controlled breaths, it should also provide CPAP/PEEP and pressure support.
Ambulance
Last but not the least, every clinic should have an ambulance. Ambulances are important in every clinic so that they help transport patients that need further care in hospitals. There are several things you need to look at when purchasing an ambulance. Firstly, is its engine. You need to ensure that the engine can always perform as its best.
Most of the time, ambulances need to rev up its speed to deliver patients quickly. Another thing to consider is the tools inside. An ambulance is also equipped with medical tools to treat a patient. Hence, you need to look for an ambulance that provides state-of-the-art tools that can treat a patient. Having a mini ventilator, a mini bed and different general equipment is important.
These are the tips on choosing the right clinic equipment. The tips may vary depending on what kind of clinic you open.
