Medical Supply For An Effective Healthcare System

By Eugenia Dickerson


The healthcare materials that are not durable in nature and are usually disposable after use or after a short duration are usually referred to as medical supply materials. They include all materials ordered and prescribed by physicians for primary use in health purpose. This category covers the ostomy supplies, oxygen, diabetic and catheters in addition to all other supplies that cannot be used in absence of an injury or illness.

In most of the health journals, medical supply is agreed to consist of health utilities that do not last long by nature. They are either disposed after a single use or expires after a short duration. It is a category of materials that physicians usually order or prescribe for a patient and cannot be shared. Their use cannot be in absence of injury or illness and are the primary health equipment and medicines. They are meant to influence the health of the patient in a positive manner but can also do the exact opposite, for this reason, most of them are not usable in a repetitive manner.

It is not surprising therefore that too much consideration is put in place when ordering items in this category of utilities. All the players from the manufacturers, suppliers, transporters, storage and eventual users put in effort for the maximum safety of these utilities.

While the hospitals and other health providers might put in place all the necessary steps to ensure that their environment and treatment procedures are completely secure, the efforts are sometimes in vain particularly if the utilizes supplied to them are defective or are below the required standards. The storage procedures must also be effective as most of these materials are highly sensitive to environmental conditions such light, moisture, temperature and even pressure.

One major effect of using ineffective utilities in the medical field is the health acquired conditions. This consists of injuries, ailments or infections that a patient acquires when in the process of seeking treatment. In most cases, they are not related to the primary ailment that brought the patient in that health facility. When a patient falls and break a bone in healthcare facility for instance for any reason, it becomes a health acquired condition.

Such infections and injuries are not limited to the patients only, healthcare providers and their support staff too becomes victims when using defective utilities. There are reports where physicians get injured and sometimes infected with life threatening diseases when administering treatment. The cleaners too handle sharp objects and other infected materials.

The protective devices that are mostly employed include disinfectants, gloves, protective coats and sometimes masks. The technology has however improved the situation as it is now possible to examine the effectiveness of most of these utilities before they are brought to the actual use. Most utilities and other equipment can always be monitored in terms of performance and the corrective measures taken before the situation deteriorates.

The success of the health sector however lies in the continuous provision of effective and efficient medical supply equipment and other utilities. The success of these requires effort from all the players in the industry from the manufacturers, suppliers, distributors to store keepers and the actual users. All must put in necessary measures to provide safe utilities and sacrifice profits for ethics as these utilities means life. The government through laws and regulations must also play their part effectively in protecting the life and health of their citizens.




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