The health system’s best practices for effective management are continuously developing, and keeping up with them requires embracing new technology. A key component of care delivery is your fleet of healthcare carts, making it easier for nurses and physicians to move quickly between patients.
Carts must balance efficiency, safety, and durability besides their overall functionality. Fortunately, battery technology improvements have made it simpler for carts to carry onboard computers and other electronic essentials without running out of power.
Coordinating Care
Improving patient confidence and outcomes begins with providing more timely care. Everything from regular family physician appointments to critical ICU care deserves speed and attention to detail, neither of which is possible without having the right tools immediately available.
This is especially important for patients with chronic conditions, who may have a long medical history that needs to be accessed quickly. Although federal legislation mandates increased use of electronic records in the health care system, those records aren’t helpful if staff struggle to get them when they’re needed most.
Point of care and other healthcare carts allow staff to move computers, scanners, label printers, medications, thermometers, IV bags, and anything else they need to a patient’s bedside quickly. Computerized carts are an enormous asset for updating records and dispensing medication.
Reducing Errors
Not having information readily available can cause catastrophic medical errors. These errors are potentially devastating for patient outcomes and could permanently damage your healthcare facility’s reputation.
Healthcare carts, especially carts on wheels, must be part of a hospital’s multifaceted strategy for eliminating medication and diagnosis errors. Staff should be thoroughly trained on and required to use certain technology carts during their rounds. Although some of this training and enforcement of rules may require additional resources, it’s well worth making sure your computer carts are used as intended.
Overall Cost
Having nearly identical sets of medical equipment in every room adds up fast, especially if you’re trying to keep cutting-edge technology readily available. Instead of having computers installed on stationary desks or tables, keep your total costs low by having only as many carts as you need for staff members to take from room to room.
Well-made healthcare carts last for years, reducing costly repairs and maintenance. New generations of lithium-ion batteries can handle thousands of cycles without losing significant charge capacity, so your staff can focus on patient care instead of stopping to replace or recharge batteries.
Improving Staff Morale
Anything that makes your nurses’ and doctors’ lives easier is likely to be appreciated. With the right technology and carts, your staff members’ morale may increase, especially if they experience less physical stress and pain.
Ergonomic healthcare carts may help reduce wrist, neck, and back strain by allowing staff to push and pull carts in more natural positions. At Scott-Clark Medical, we put time and energy into engineering every part of our carts, including minor details like handles. We make sure our carts’ handles and trays are ergonomically placed for the wrists and shoulders’ natural positioning, reducing strain.
We also make sure our wheels turn smoothly, and the frames are as light as possible while still maintaining durability. We use aluminum and stainless steel in the principal parts of our frames and use high-quality plastics where necessary for shaping on other parts. Your team members will feel the difference when pushing our carts, especially at the end of a long shift.
The Future of Healthcare
Scott-Clark Medical is dedicated to providing the customized carts you need for your hospital or clinic. We’ve designed our product line to be durable and easy to sanitize so you can keep your staff working safely and efficiently.
We have a full line of peripheral options like handheld scanners, buckets, monitor mounts, keyboard trays, and other tools your staff need to provide the best care possible. Call us today at (512) 756-7300, so we can talk you through how our customization process works.