Med One Blog

By Ibby Smith Stofer

No matter who is asking, or what they are asking for, saying no is never easy!

Do you remember the saying “It’s not what you say but how you say it?”

This is great advice. Over the course of my career, I have seen how this old saying holds tried and true.

For many hospitals, there is one overarching question: how can we be efficient while still providing the best care for our patients? Fortunately, there are countless ways for hospitals to improve efficiency. In fact, some hospitals are already practicing alternatives to do just that. If you're ready to learn some ways to be more effective, keep reading.

Infusion pumps are one of the most productive ways to get medication and fluids into a person’s body. In fact, IV therapy is considered the fastest way to deliver any kind of fluid or medication to the body, yielding a bioavailability absorption of 100%. The introduction of smart pumps and the Alaris IV pump, in particular, has made the process a lot more efficient and error-free. The software included with new pumps is one reason the Alaris IV pump can make things even more efficient and safer at hospitals.

Healthcare facilities are tasked with keeping track of all kinds of medical equipment. Hospital personnel must stay on top of inventory, assess whether equipment must be repaired, and ensure the cost of equipment stays within the confines of the operating budget. Being able to ensure that equipment is both accessible and affordable is a constant balancing act, but it's a necessary one to ensure the facility can continue to operate and that patients are able to receive the highest quality of care. With emerging technologies and healthcare reform impacting costs and quality, this is no easy feat. But if you're struggling with managing your medical equipment and its associated costs, the following tips may help.

By Ibby Smith Stofer

Some of the most memorable interactions in my career include the time I spent with sales trainees when I worked for one of the top medical device companies in the country. During sales training, we would occasionally do role-playing. I assumed the role of the CFO for a healthcare provider considering new technology.

Infusion pumps have been used since the late 1960s, most Americans associate this medical equipment with a hospital stay, but infusion systems are used in other healthcare applications as well. Oral surgeons and dentists may use syringe infusion pumps during certain procedures that require sedation. While sedatives can be administered in other ways, like through inhalation or oral dispensation, intravenous sedation does have some clear advantages.

The average hospital will own or rent over 35,000 SKUs of equipment at any one time. Hospital equipment ranges in size, cost, availability, and functionality, but the one thing in common is - all equipment needs to work correctly 100% of the time. Because of this, many healthcare facilities are choosing to rent their hospital equipment, such as infusion systems and syringe pumps. It ensures that they always have the right equipment on hand.

Hospitals and healthcare facilities rely on IV infusion pumps to dispense fluids, such as medications or nutrients, to improve patient health. Your facility likely relies on the two classes of infusion pumps -- large volume pumps for nutrients and small volume pumps for medicines or hormones -- to assist you in patient treatment. But while smart infusion pumps can reduce errors in healthcare settings, they need to be utilized properly to produce these results. Ultimately, errors can and will occur for a variety of reasons. We've outlined some of the most prevalent causes of IV errors below and how the correct usage of Alaris Smart Pumps and other infusion pump technology can lower these risks.

According to the Materiel Systems department at the University of Michigan Health Systems, approximately 86% of all patients admitted to hospital beds require infusion pumps. While these pumps are required for a variety of reasons, there's no doubt that they're indispensable to healthcare facilities. In today's post, we'll be discussing some of the features and benefits that come along with one particular infusion pump: the Sigma Spectrum.

By Ibby Smith Stofer

As the focus on healthcare continues to change, so does the purchasing decision process. The digital world of information has transformed the purchasing process for every purchase we make. Yesterday’s buyer will most likely look very different then buyers today!