Healthcare providers are constantly working in a hazardous environment while treating patients with various contagious and non-contagious conditions. Thus, the safety of healthcare workers and minimizing contamination in the facility take the top priority. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) allows healthcare workers to treat patients safely and work without jeopardizing their own health. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the need of maintaining a large inventory of high-quality PPE supplies to keep frontline healthcare workers safe.
However, since personal protective equipment is so commonplace, it sometimes means medical centers do not put much thought into policies on PPE purchasing and use. They often consider it a mundane formality rather than a decision that requires careful consideration. Nonetheless, when it comes to buying PPE Supplies to protect healthcare professionals, there can be no compromise in the quality of PPE supplies.
Following are the important safety measures that supervisors should consider when purchasing PPE equipment for their healthcare professionals:
Choose a trustworthy provider
During the pandemic, the scarcity of PPE equipment made many healthcare providers expand their supplier search and rely on independent third-party suppliers to fulfill their needs. However, it also increased the opportunities for grey market suppliers to deliver counterfeit, low-quality (or stolen) supplies. Therefore, it is crucial for healthcare providers to make sure that the supplier is legitimate and FDA registered to supply medical equipment in the United States legally.
Buy FDA approved equipment
The CDC has issued guidelines regarding PPE equipment that should be used in medical settings. As per the guidelines, all the isolation gowns, gloves, face masks, and other medical accessories used in hospitals should be FDA-approved. Therefore, healthcare providers should check the labeling before purchasing to safeguard against any counterfeit products. It is recommended for healthcare providers to source high-quality surgical gowns, which can reduce medium to high contamination risk to protect healthcare providers.
Reusable isolation gowns
Ever since the pandemic, there has been an increased demand for PPE, and due to the shortage in PPE supplies, the FDA authorized the use of reusable isolation gowns and other approved equipment. Investing in Reusable PPE equipment can help healthcare facilities combat the lack of PPE supplies. The approved reusable PPE isolation gowns can be reused more than 60 times after proper sterilization.
Conduct a hazard assessment when choosing PPE gowns
Different healthcare professionals may need different types of PPE equipment to safeguard against potential contamination risks present in the medical setting. Therefore, healthcare providers need to conduct an updated hazard assessment and choose the right PPE gear depending on the risk involved in a particular setting.
Beware of grey market suppliers
When the pandemic started, many grey market suppliers began taking advantage of the situation caused by COVID-19. The counterfeit, stolen, or low-quality PPE supplies from grey market suppliers pose a huge threat to healthcare institutions. It compromises the safety of healthcare professionals and slanders the healthcare institute’s brand reputation. Thus, healthcare institutions need to have carefully curated policies to prevent sourcing supplies from any scam suppliers.
The safety of healthcare professionals is no laughing matter, especially during such a critical time. For establishing a safe environment in a medical setting, continual investment and monitoring are required, and PPE supplies are certainly no exception to that - so make sure you stay on top of this!
Elite Medical Accessories has been a leading supplier of reliable and high-quality medical accessories, including face masks, PPE gowns, gloves, and other protective equipment for healthcare providers. We have over 20 years of experience sourcing and distributing high-quality PPE and other medical supplies to hospitals, nursing homes, and healthcare specialists across the USA.
We offer an extensive range of FDA-Approved Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which adhere to the CDC guidelines. So, if you are looking for a reliable supply of medical face masks, gloves, PPE gear, and other medical accessories, contact our team to know more.