It takes all types of specialties to make a health care team run effectively. The same is true for your medical carts. Specialized carts for each task can help staff perform their job functions quickly and effectively.
When purchasing a procedural cart, you have options available. You should consider the needs of your staff and their specific job function. Well-equipped procedural medical carts can help your staff perform at peak efficiency.
Crash Carts
Used during medical emergencies, crash carts are designed to keep items secure yet quickly accessible. These carts are needed beyond just the emergency room. Many healthcare facilities have multiple crash carts placed in strategic locations to ensure speedy emergency response times.
Crash carts should come with a large work area on the top of the cart since medical emergencies rarely happen in convenient locations. They have multiple drawers for storing medical supplies needed during resuscitation efforts. These carts can be designed for pediatric or adult-specific emergencies.
Security is an important feature when considering a procedural crash cart. Some carts offer the ability to attach an external lock that can be easily broken off in the event of an emergency. Other crash carts may be equipped with autolocking drawers that require a code or biometric data input to be unlocked. Consider the workflow of your facility to determine which security options would be best for you.
Isolation Carts
Patient care can be challenging when a highly contagious disease poses risks to the patient’s health care team. Medical isolation carts reduce the risk of infection by providing necessary supplies in an easy-to-clean cart. They can be made from microbe-resistant polymers or stainless steel.
An isolation cart has multiple drawers to store necessary personal protective equipment (PPE), making it easy for healthcare providers to take the necessary infection control steps. When everything is stocked in one place, healthcare facilities can reduce the chance of human error in forgetting a step to break the chain of infection. They also have specialized waste disposal containers to seal in used PPE.
Since isolation carts must be stored in or near the patient rooms, a space-saving design is important. You want an isolation cart that meets your protective equipment storage needs without being cumbersome. Minimizing drawers and attachments can facilitate easy cleaning and help reduce the chances of contamination of the cart.
Anesthesia Carts
These carts are designed with the highly specialized needs of an anesthesiologist in mind. They are useful in any setting where sedation procedures are performed, including surgical centers and dentists’ offices. Mobile anesthesia carts allow anesthesiologists to take their equipment with them to multiple procedure rooms.
Security features are essential on anesthesia carts, as many of the medications used for sedation are stolen and abused. Dual-locking medication drawers and IV pole attachments help anesthesiologists perform their job efficiently and securely. Organization is critical on an anesthesia cart. Multiple drawers fitted with customizable dividers allow your organization to personalize the cart to your system’s workflow.
Medication Workstation
A mobile medical workstation helps healthcare providers provide effective and efficient care. They can be configured to include extra drawers or cabinet space depending on each department’s workflow. Integrated with computer peripherals, such as barcode scanners and printers, medical workstation carts streamline care tasks for nurses and other providers.
Mobile medication workstations improve patient and nurse interactions. Many times, patients will have medications available on an as needed basis. When a nurse comes into a room to check on a patient, they may request these medications. By having commonly needed medications available in the mobile workstation, nurses save time and effort since they have what they need in the room already.
Each department’s workflow dictates the specific requirements for their ideal medication workstation. Customizable medical supply carts offer the ability to adapt as workflows change in the future. Medication drawers can be securely locked with either keypad locks or external locks. Cabinets can be used to store any required logs for inventory management and medication administration supplies. As facilities grow, components can be swapped or exchanged to improve efficiency.
Phlebotomy Carts
Laboratory technicians and phlebotomists need easy access to specialized equipment. Collection vials, vein access equipment, and a variety of needles need to be stored in an organized manner to prevent errors. A mobile cart with drawers and a smooth worktop allow these essential healthcare team members to have all their tools at their fingertips. Storage cabinets keep gloves and alcohol swabs readily available for the next patient blood draw. These carts can easily be maneuvered into patient rooms, creating minimal disruptions for patients.
Since phlebotomists specialize in blood collection, the ability to securely store medical waste containers is essential for any well-equipped phlebotomy cart. Drawers with transparent bins can help phlebotomists quickly find the equipment and accessories they need, reducing the amount of time spent for each lab draw.
Finding the Right Cart
The right specialized procedural medical carts can increase productivity and reduce stress among healthcare workers. Many facilities can reduce overhead and improve outcomes when introducing procedural medical carts to their workflow.
The Scott-Clark Medical team pioneers in the healthcare cart industry. Let us help you find the best solution for your facility. For a free quote or consultation, call (512) 756-7300 today.