Choosing The Right Medical Supplies For Your Practice: A Comprehensive Guide
Every medical practice requires some kind of tools and equipment. Whether you’re opening a practice for the first time or looking to replace your existing supplies, it’s important that you take the time to carefully select the right suppliers. By choosing the right equipment, you can make your practice more efficient and provide the highest quality patient care. Below are some tips on who to make an informed choice.
Understand your needs
First, you need to consider what type of practice you are. Are you a general clinic or a specialist? And what type of patients do you predominantly market your services to? If you are a specialist when it comes to conditions like dysphagia, taking time to find the right G tube for patients could be a priority. However, more general practises may be able to get away with more basic G tubes if this is not equipment that you use often. That said, even general clinics may find that there are certain treatments that carry out more often. Being prepared to invest in better quality equipment for these popular treatments could be a sensible move.
Research the reputation of suppliers
It’s important to choose high quality suppliers. Read reviews and ask other medical professionals for recommendations as to what suppliers to use. Also consider things like guarantees and warranties as these can be a good sign that a supplier is trusted. It may be possible to buy the bulk of your equipment through one supplier (and this may even entitle you to discounts). However, there may be certain equipment that you have to seek out specialists for. Make sure to research every supplier, so that there are no weak links in your supply chain.
Compare financing options and negotiate pricing
Medical supplies are a big expense, and you may only have a certain budget to work within. Most suppliers will offer payment plans, but you may find that some payment plans are more flexible than others and easier to work within your budget. When buying equipment in bulk like hospital beds or dressings, it may be possible to negotiate pricing in some cases by directly contacting the supplier. Every small discount that you can negotiate can make a difference when you’ve got slim profit margins - which can be the case with some practices in the early stages.
Make sure equipment meets industry standards and certification
A lot of practices find that they’re able to get discounts on equipment by buying from overseas suppliers. However, it’s important to remember that different countries have different industry standards, and equipment sold in one country may not be considered fit for use in another country. Similarly, certain old used equipment may no longer comply with regulations. Double check that equipment meets current local standards.
Know when to trial equipment
With some complex equipment, it may be worth trialling it before you buy. This can give you an idea as to how user-friendly it is. It may be possible to trial more general equipment such as ECG monitors too, however if you’ve got lots of equipment to buy, you may not have time to test it all. In some cases, there may be videos you can watch instead that demonstrate how to use equipment that could be a good alternative to trialling it in person.
