In the increasingly modernized medical setting, access to computers is more important than ever before. The advent of electronic medical records and electronic documentation systems for healthcare professionals means that computers in healthcare facilities are here to stay, and their use will only become more common over time.
Movable medical computer carts are used for different purposes throughout the hospital medical setting. Typically, they will be used by physicians, nurses, and members of the allied healthcare team for writing orders, reviewing lab results and other medical workups, buy dilaudid online, as well as documentation of assessments and vital signs at the bedside and recording medications administered and other treatments that have been provided.
Knowing how to clean these medical computer carts keeps patients, family members, and all members of the healthcare team healthy and free from the risk of infectious disease acquired in the hospital setting.
Desktop computers on wall mounts in patients rooms helps prevent spread of bacteria, however computer carts on wheels give the healthcare staff more freedom and maneuverability. This allows them to work in a quicker and more effective way.
The Importance of Keeping Your Computer Carts Clean
The transportable nature of these mobile computer carts makes them dynamic and highly usable for the modern medical workplace. Unfortunately, however, it may also means the work surface is exposed to more bacteria, viruses, and other unwanted infectious particles as they are moved between locations within the hospital, or between patient’s rooms.
Something many healthcare facilities fail to consider is how to adequately disinfect these carts and keep them clean. From how to clean them to how often, there are many aspects of proper medical equipment cart disinfection that must be considered.
Though this task would typically fall to housekeeping or the regular cleaning staff, nursing or other professions may take responsibility for cleaning. Regardless of who is responsible for the usual disinfection of the ergonomic computer carts in your hospital or on your unit, the most important thing is that it is done regularly with the appropriate supplies.
How Scott-Clark Medical Computer Carts are Optimized to Reduce the Spread of Infection
Scott-Clark Point of Care Mobile Carts are optimized to reduce the spread of infection within the context of a hospital setting. These customizable and power system mobile workstations are made primarily from easy to clean aluminum and stainless steel that can be wiped down between users.
They also have less plastic components when compared to other similar computer carts on the market. Plastic and similar inexpensive materials can attract bacteria such as MRSA and allow them to spread as these materials break down and degrade.
By using the highest possible quality of materials in their construction, these carts reduce transmission of bacteria and viruses and help keep both patients and staff safe. This is especially important in the context of a computer workstation, where staff move between patient rooms and the computer workstation up to hundreds of times per day, touching surfaces and potentially spreading bacteria and other unwanted germs between them.
Disinfecting Your Medical Computer Carts: How to Do It and What Products to Use
By far the most common and most effective way to clean wheeled medical computer carts is using disposable, medical-grade, disinfectant and decontaminate wipes. These are commonly available and widespread throughout hospitals in the USA as well as most other countries.
These wipes are generally bactericidal, and most brands have some chemical component that acts against viruses, fungi, and parasites as well. Almost all types of antibacterial cleaning wipes must be used with medical gloves that are appropriate for that specific product.
The specifics of which product to use for which laptop cart will be dictated by the infection prevention and control departments of individual facilities or by site-specific guidelines that are particular to ongoing outbreaks if such an outbreak should occur.
For best results, first, remove any gross debris or spills from the workstation. Then, wipe down each medical computer cart with the appropriate medical-grade wipes and allow time to dry thoroughly before using them again. This prevents cross-contamination between rooms and users and stops microbes from spreading as users move between patients and workstations in the healthcare environment. These medical-grade wipes can even be used on the casters, which help the medical computer carts be mobile.
It is also possible to use towels or reusable washcloths and a bactericidal and anti-infective cleaning solution. However, this all-in-one option is usually not any more cost-effective, and reuse of cloths may increase the spread of germs and microbes.
Keeping Patients, Families, Employees Healthy
No matter where you work in the hospital, taking appropriate measures to reduce the risk of disease vector spread means better patient care. It can also result in a lower rate of sickness and resultant employee absenteeism for healthcare workers.
An investment in high-quality hospital medical carts for computers on wheels, accompanied by the appropriate cleaning supplies to disinfect them, is an investment in health for everyone in the hospital setting as well as in the infrastructure of the facility.