Right now, an urgent priority is placed on the critical shortage of healthcare equipment and supplies in the hospital level, with many reasons behind it. Hospitals are fighting head-on against a very contagious pandemic. Many medical services from closed emergency clinics to open elective facilities have donated their supplies to various local hospitals during the onset of this pandemic. While they do so, they also realize that it may not be adequate to meet the needs of their patients.
The shortage in essential and necessary supplies comes at a time when the government has been implementing some of the worst healthcare policies ever implemented in America. They are cutting down entire hospital departments and moving some centers to sub-categories or even closing altogether. The policies of eliminating services, charging more for treatment, or forcing patients to wait days for an appointment to have all gone into disrepair. But one thing that hasn’t been moved to the trash can is patient care equipment. These include things like bedside commode chairs. The lack of patient diagnosis equipment in this situation is having a huge impact on patient care.
What is a bedside commode chair? It’s a piece of medical equipment that is used to offer comfort, relief to the person suffering from urinary incontinence. Without proper patient diagnosis supplies, people are left to suffer with incontinence as the only way to avoid a trip to the doctor. These medical supplies are not easy to come by. In fact, they account for a large percentage of the average hospital budget as they are so essential to patient care.
So where is the supply company for these products are going to come from? Most hospitals use a third-party source for the medical care supplies. This means the suppliers are either purchased directly by the hospital, or through a distribution company that works with hospitals. Both of these options work well, because it prevents one of two things from happening. Either the healthcare equipment and supplies for the elective procedures are not purchased, or the wrong ones are purchased.
Either way, the healthcare provider is at risk of not getting the right items. While many hospitals do purchase the equipment directly, it is often the case that third party distributors have a much better price and service. However, it is important to note that even third party distributors can have limited capabilities when it comes to delivering the products. A healthcare provider can end up paying a large markup on the cost of the product, or not receiving the supplies they need. This can create a critical shortage in the hospital’s ability to provide high quality care to their patients.
The current system for buying medical care supplies is broken. It is time for a revolutionary change in the way that medical care providers buy the equipment and supplies they need. To understand how this change will affect the healthcare industry, it is important to examine the current supply chain.
