Are you looking to buy a new fleet of medical computer carts for a medical facility? Like many other types of medical equipment, a good computer cart must, first and foremost, fulfill your facility’s needs and allow your caregiving staff to do their jobs more efficiently.
If you don’t know where to start or what to look for in a medical computer cart, consider asking these essential questions to determine which models best suit your requirements.
What are the Cart’s Ergonomics?
Ergonomics are the determining factor of a workstation on wheels’ day-to-day practicality. If the cart is not easy and convenient to use, your personnel are more likely to spend time managing equipment instead of focusing on patient care, wasting time and energy.
High-quality medical computer carts should offer the following features:
- Height adjustment features to accommodate for personnel of all statures, in both standing and sitting positions
- Textured handles and holding surfaces to make it easy to push and pull around
- Reasonable overall weight for ease of maneuvering and manipulation
- Compact dimensions to navigate tight spaces
Are the Casters Designed for Healthcare Environments?
One of the essential features of a medical cart is the design of the casters. Healthcare facilities have limited space through which carts can travel, and caregivers are often required to push their carts to their next destination as quickly as possible.
The casters must be able to withstand the weight and distribution forces involved in pushing a heavy, fully-equipped medical cart without prematurely breaking or wearing out.
As carts roll around, the casters may build up static electricity. Without a set of special conductive, anti-static casters your mobile medical cart may be vulnerable to electrostatic discharges (ESD). ESD can damage or destroy electronic equipment, such as laptops, power systems, or any other connected medical devices and other peripherals.
Is My Cart Durable?
It is essential to pay attention to the materials used to construct your medical computer cart. The quality and durability of these materials directly influence how long they’ll last until repairs or replacements are necessary.
One of the most cost-effective materials for a medical cart is stainless steel. This material is reasonably priced, highly durable, and easy to clean and disinfect.
Although stainless steel is heavier than other common cart materials, such as aluminum alloys, it is also less expensive and more durable, capable of withstanding impacts that could dent or bend carts made of alloys.
What Hardware Does My Cart Support?
The design of a mobile computer cart differs greatly based on the equipment they are intended to support, from computers and peripherals to ancillary medical devices.
If your healthcare facility’s computers are laptops, you’ll want to consider purpose-built rolling laptop carts. They typically feature securing points and slots to keep the laptop from falling during transit.
If you need your medical carts to support desktop workstations, ensure that the model you want has the necessary brackets and mounting points for the tower and the monitor.
Regardless of the computer type, mobile medical carts are frequently fitted with additional hardware. Quality carts should possess foldable plates and trays specifically dedicated to standard computer peripherals, such as a desktop mouse and keyboard.
Other additions include additional mounting points for extra peripherals, such as monitors (ideal for radios, high-definition displays, and other multi-monitor applications), printers, scanners, and more.
Equip Your Healthcare Facility With Top-Quality Medical Carts
Scott-Clark Medical is a pioneer in the medical computer cart sector, offering a wide array of new, used, and custom solutions for healthcare facilities of all sizes. We also provide advanced power systems, such as our patented FMCPT technology, hot-swappable batteries, and multi-battery setups.
For more information regarding our products and services, call us at (512) 756-7300.