Protecting Hospital Finances: How the Right Medical Cart Provider Helps You Save

Medical carts are essential tools that empower your teams to provide patient care. In addition to aiding providers and staff, your medical cart choice also contributes to the hospital’s financial health. And they do so in more ways than you might think.

Read on to learn how the right medical carts and medical cart provider can help your hospital preserve its financial resources.

Asset Tracking and Equipment Preservation

In today’s healthcare landscape, asset tracking is essential for medical cart fleets. The IoT technology ensures all tagged equipment is accounted for in the correct location and is utilized for its intended purpose. RTLS asset tracking can track any computer workstation anywhere on a facility’s campus, making it key for hospital budget optimization.

The World Health Organization has found that up to 20% of a hospital’s mobile assets are lost or stolen annually. This leads to thousands of dollars lost annually due to preventable equipment loss. Asset tracking locates medical carts in real-time to prevent this loss, while also tracking utilization rates so you know how often each computer cart is being used.

Asset tracking capabilities allow your teams to instantly know cart location and status, streamlining workflows and mitigating resource loss daily.

Streamline Maintenance and Repair

Hospital medical carts and workstations see a lot of use, which means they undergo wear and tear daily. To use your carts to their fullest potential, every component needs to be in perfect working order. In order for this to happen, maintaining a regular maintenance schedule is imperative.

Creating a process that streamlines maintenance saves your hospital both financial resources and time.

A set schedule for each medical workstation can:

• Decrease equipment downtime
• Ensure providers and nurses have adequate equipment for each shift
• Increase team efficiency
• Reduce unexpected equipment failure
• Lower costs for buying replacements

All benefits above play pivotal roles in protecting hospital finances. The ripple effects of properly working medical carts are immeasurable for your hospital’s budget, so it’s crucial to take every step possible to ensure regular maintenance and mitigate emergency repair needs.

Quality Equipment that Lasts

Your hospital’s budget is meticulously planned, with every dollar designated to a specific department or line item. When considering medical workstations or mobile carts, some hospital administration teams might choose to cut corners to save money or designate cart funds for other departments or projects.

But If hospitals opt for cheap equipment, they’ll deal with the frustrations and costs that come with that choice. Investing in quality medical carts ensures you get equipment that will stand up to the rigors of 24-hour use in a fast-paced hospital environment.

Providers, nurses, and other staff push and pull medical workstations across hospital floors. Both the frame and the casters must have the durability to withstand the stresses of high-intensity and near-constant use. The quality of materials, design, and cart construction dictate your medical carts' overall quality and longevity –– and the total amount your hospital spends on cart replacements.

When considering a medical cart provider, choose a distributor that prioritizes quality. By investing in quality equipment that lasts, you will preserve your hospital’s finances while providing superior equipment for care teams and staff.

Medication Safety and Secure Administration

Safety is a top priority in every hospital. Regarding medication administration procedures, hospitals, and healthcare facilities must take every precaution to ensure patient and staff safety.

Every team’s goal should be zero errors in medication administration, but a recent study by Johns Hopkins found that medical errors cause more than 250,000 deaths annually. By choosing medication carts designed for medication distribution, hospitals can avoid preventable mistakes and the financial consequences that ensue.

Investing in carts designed explicitly for medication administration helps reduce administration error and prevents accidental or intentional medication theft. Added security features such as locking drawers, badge access, and other features promote a culture of medication safety and help your hospital reduce damages caused by medication administration accidents.

Financing Medical Equipment Carts

Medical equipment carts are non-negotiable. Hospitals require various equipment carts to execute care plans and provide the care your patients need. However, many hospitals find themselves in a financial position where they cannot afford the carts they need, leaving them with outdated workstations, or even carts that don’t work at all.

Financing medical equipment carts allow you to access the newest and most effective carts while actively protecting the hospital’s finances. Medical cart financing plans give you the freedom and flexibility to upgrade or acquire new equipment without feeling any cash flow constraints.

Better Patient Care and Reduced Resource Waste

Every asset within your hospital, including medical carts, contributes to patient care. The ultimate goal of your healthcare facility is to deliver optimal care. Choosing the right mobile carts and cart providers will position your hospital to best care for your patients.

Mobile medical carts support your care teams. From ergonomic design to ease of use, your medical carts should be crafted with clinicians in mind. When clinicians and nurses have equipment optimized for their unique needs, they perform their jobs better and more efficiently, giving them time and energy to engage with their patients in a meaningful way.

Quality carts promote user safety, streamline workflows, and decrease user errors, culminating in reduced resource spending and waste.

Partnering with Altus: Prioritizing Your Hospital’s Financial Health

As explored above, the medical equipment carts you choose affect your hospital’s finances. Working with Altus for all medical equipment cart needs gives the assurance of a quality product that improves any clinician’s workflow while staying within any budget.

Altus has a full line of computer workstations designed specifically for healthcare and hospital use with financing options that meet your needs. Reach out today to learn more about our medical equipment carts and workstations and how they can transform the way you deliver care.