Understanding Healthcare

With a range of medical supplies available on the market today, stethoscopes, although considered basic, are crucial. Stethoscopes are important for listening to heart rate and recording blood pressures, and are used in basic vital signs of any and every patient. The first priority of every first responder is airway, breathing, and circulation. Stethoscopes are the keys needed when determining lifesaving assessments. The decisions for buying stethoscopes are critical since paramedics are using them in noisy environments where hearing and differentiating sounds can be difficult, and breath sounds are important no matter who is taking them or wearing maternity scrubs. An excellent choice is the Welch Allyn Harvey DLX stethoscope. Enclosed are some features to look for in a stethoscope, and where the Harvey DLX ranks in each category.

1. Tubing Design
There are two basic designs for tubing that go from the chest piece of the stethoscope to the ear pieces. The original design uses two separate tubes, which is known as a Sprague design. The two tubes offer excellent hearing, compared to a single tube. However, one significant problem is that the tubes often rub together and create more noise — or artifact — that can compromise what the paramedic is listening for. The Harvey DLX stethoscope features dual bore tubing, but the Welch Allyn brand name ensures that artifact has no presence in this superior stethoscope.

Another style uses a single tube, rather than the dual tubes. These were designed to help eliminate some of the artifact. These models vary greatly in quality — lower quality models have narrow tubing that can make it difficult for the transmission of sounds. Lower end models are often found in clinics where they are used for taking blood pressures.

Bilumen tubing incorporates the best of both worlds. It uses a single tube that has a split lumen which goes to each earpiece. Basically, it has two tubes inside a single tube. This offers improved hearing without the artifact. The bilumen models often offer better sound quality and decreased artifact.

2. Chest piece design
There are two different designs for the chest piece of a stethoscope — combination or single design.

The combination chest piece has two heads that can be rotated to select from either a diaphragm or a bell. The diaphragm is used to listen to high frequency sounds, while the bell side is used to hear lower frequencies. This is the technology used in the Harvey DLX stethoscope. It is simple to use, eliminating the margin of error.

The single head chest piece uses a unique design. To hear low frequency sounds, one rests the chest piece in place with light pressure. To hear high frequency sounds, one applies firm fingertip pressure on the chest piece. This pressure alters the frequency response by changing the contact points. There are some newly designed single head chest pieces that use a lightweight acrylic design. This is intended to increase the amplification significantly, but some complain that it is difficult to find the exact right pressure.

3. Test run
Before you purchase stethoscopes, or any medical equipment for your organization, get input from your colleagues. Have them test various models on the market to determine what they feel works best in their working environment.

If you expect your paramedics to be able to differentiate lung and heart sounds in the back of an ambulance, you need to purchase a good quality stethoscope. It is one of the essential tools needed to provide the best level of patient care. Their input is valuable and it offers them ownership in the decision process.

To sum it all up, the Welch Allyn Harvey DLX Double-head Stethoscope is the easiest-to-hear and most accurate heart sounds of any stethoscope on the market today. The stethoscope is optimized for listening to higher frequency and critically important heart sounds like murmurs, clicks, and ejection sounds. It provides clear transmission of the first and second heart sounds, and has ideally sized bell bridges that fit in the intercostal space between the ribs. The tightly constrained diaphragm provides superior response at targeted frequencies. The stethoscope also features an additional corrugated diaphragm for detecting mid-range and lower frequencies.

Leave a comment »

• 

Filed under: Focus on Healthcare, Focus on Products, Product Information by Administrator

Tags: ems, harvey dlx, stethoscopes, welch allyn

There was once a time when first aid consisted of assessing a patient based on physical, outwardly apparent signs and symptoms, and treatment based on an educated guess of what was going on inside the patient. Today we have sophisticated medical supplies and equipment, but almost none is as instrumental in health care as vital sign monitors. Blood pressure can be taken using a traditional  blood pressure cuff, and pulse can be checked manually, but how often? There are a variety of monitors available to instantly alert medical care providers to a change in a patient’s status. This can sometimes mean the difference between life and death.

The basic vital signs monitors measure the five main bodily functions, body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen saturation.

Vital signs monitors enable healthcare professionals to evaluate their patients quickly, enabling them to progress to other tasks more efficiently and focus on improving the patient’s health.  The advanced technology engineered in vital signs monitors makes them optimal for hospitals.  However, because the basic vital signs monitors are compact and portable, they’re perfect for use in homes, clinics, at the sites of medical emergencies, etc.  With this state-of-the-art equipment now available to the public, vital signs monitors will be increasingly used in the home as patients can be monitored by family and friends and receive treatment from healthcare professionals where the patient feels most comfortable.  If you’re caring for someone at home, you’ll find the following information pertinent to your tasks.

Using vital signs monitors will provide critical information about a patient’s state of health.  They are a way of quickly assessing how serious an illness is and how well the body is coping with the resulting biological stress.  The more unstable the vital signs are, the sicker the patient is.  Vital signs can also mark the state of chronic diseases (i.e. hypertension).  When manually taking vital signs, it’s important to remember that the slightest error can have dramatic results.  If there is user error or patient error, an accident or a mistake, false readings will occur.  If these are not remedied quickly, improper decisions and treatment could possibly be carried out.  However, using vital signs monitors will eliminate such errors.  Nonetheless, it is of the utmost importance to understand exactly what you are measuring.

Thermometers can range from the basic mercury variety to more sophisticated electric thermometers. Body Temperature is checked in order to gauge how well the body stores and releases heat, detect abnormally high body temperature (hyperthermia) or abnormally low body temperature (hypothermia), and monitor the effectiveness of some medications. Though normal body temperature varies from person to person, the average is 98.6 °F.  Temperatures may vary throughout the day, ordinarily being lowest in the morning and rising in the evening.

Pulse Rate is described as the number of beats per minute (bpm). Pulse rate is conventionally measured using a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. The pulse rate provides clues about the function and health of the heart. It determines whether the heart is pumping blood adequately, and monitors certain symptoms such as palpitations, dizziness, fainting, chest pain, or shortness of breath. Pulse rate can also monitor medical conditions or the use of medications.

Respiration Rate, measured using a stethoscope, is the rate at which a person breathes.  The best time to measure this is when a person is resting.  The normal rate for adults is 12-24 breaths per minute.

Blood Pressure measures the force of blood inside an artery in two measurements, systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure is when blood flow is first heard, representing peak blood pressure that occurs when the heart contracts. Diastolic pressure is when blood flow can no longer be heard, representing the lowest blood pressure that occurs when the heart relaxes between beats.

Blood Oxygen Saturation evaluates how well the lungs are providing oxygen to the blood during rest, exercise, or a medical procedure through the use of a pulse oximeter. It examines oxygenation and the saturation of hemoglobin in the blood.

There is a variety of patient monitors available, from the basic vital signs monitor to the advanced anesthetic monitor or 5 agent gas monitor, required for patients undergoing anesthesia. There are also many patient monitors that are multiparameter. One simple monitor widely used is the pulse oximeter monitor to detect the oxygen saturation, or SpO2, in the blood through the skin. A sensor with a special light is attached to the finger or earlobe for an almost instant reading.

When used in a hospital setting, monitors may be classified into basic categories. There are handheld and portable monitors which are useful when going on a round of patients. Defibrillator monitors are those which include an AED in the monitor itself. These are also usually portable, and are used often in EMS services. Tabletop monitors are not portable, but may include more features than those of the portable variety. Some of the bulkier Vital monitors are also networkable with other medical resources, although not all of them are. They also may be wired, or use wireless signals, depending on the specific model.

Another type of monitor, one that provides information by telemetry, is especially critical in cardiac units, and there is usually a need for a large number of these monitors. There must be extras to replace broken or damaged monitors or modules, so having a very large inventory is both essential and costly.

Leave a comment »

• 

Filed under: Articles, Focus on Products by Jack - Editor

Tags: defibrillators, exam, medical equipment, vital signs

In today’s day and age, it is well-known that CPR is vital in emergency situations of respiratory distress. Having made progress from the traditional mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, today’s rescue workers perform CPR using CPR masks or barriers. CPR masks come in various shapes and sizes.

The most basic CPR equipment is the CPR shield, a low-cost barrier that is basically a flat covering for the face with air holes for the nose and mouth. The shield is mainly used in CPR practice procedures to protect trainees from exchanging germs on a mannequin that is used multiple times.

The most common CPR mask is also known as a pocket face mask. It is kept in a pouch or plastic case, and is found in all basic first aid kits. Anyone with any manner of CPR training, including lifeguards etc. will have a CPR mask on hand. The CPR mask ensures safety by having a one-way filter valve in place. When the person giving breaths breathes into the mouth of the patient the one way filter valve prevents any mucus, blood, or vomit from going back into the resuscitator’s mouth. When used with the correct technique, the mask forms a seal around the victim’s airway so that breaths go straight in. Some are also equipped with elastics to go around the victim’s head. This ensures that the mask stays in place during the CPR process. The classic CPR mask is inflated to fit around the victim’s airway, but some are made of a thin plastic that folds up, and can be worn on a keychain.

Some masks come with a built-in oxygen intake tube. This tube allows for oxygen to be taken from the atmosphere and delivered to the patient. The use of a built-in oxygen intake tube can be very helpful because it can alleviate some of the strain and stress on the person who gives rescue breaths during CPR. CPR procedures require a great deal of physical work during a stressful situation, which can compromise the effectiveness of the rescue.

Yet another type of CPR mask is the bag valve mask. This CPR mask requires the use of two hands to operate. One hand is used to seal the mask over the mouth while the other hand squeezes air from the bag into the mouth of the patient. Used mostly when two rescue workers are performing CPR together, the bag valve mask requires almost no work on the part of the rescue worker.

CPR masks can be purchased online or in person from health supply retailers. One thing to consider when purchasing a CPR mask is that the material that it is made up of is latex-free. This is important not just for the resuscitator, but for patients as well, because so many people are now known to have latex allergies, and a rescuer would not want to induce an allergic reaction while performing CPR.

Leave a comment »

• 

Filed under: Articles, Focus on Products, Product Information by Administrator

Tags: cpr mask, cpr shield, pocket face mask

Being an EMT is a tough job, and it doesn’t take long to figure out that the equipment you’re using can make everything go more smoothly… or drive you totally crazy. One of the most essential pieces of gear is your EMS bag. You take the bag with you on every call, and you depend on it to store, transport, and organize all your supplies. When responding to an emergency, a good EMS bag can save you time and help you treat the patient faster by allowing you to find what you need in an instant. On the other hand, a poorly designed bag can leave you scrambling for the right supplies while precious seconds tick away. A bag that is hard to maneuver can also cause strain, slowing you down on the way to the scene of an emergency or even causing injury. Take the time to find the EMS bag that is right for you, and you will appreciate it on every call.

Follow these tips to make sure you are purchasing the ultimate EMS bag:

The Right Fit

You’ll be spending a lot of time carrying your EMS bag around, so make sure you can transport it comfortably. The StatPacks G1 Perfusion ALS/BLS EMS Bag is a great example of a versatile pack designed with your comfort in mind. It features ergonomic shoulder straps, and the shoulder straps as well as the back panel are padded to make carrying a fully loaded bag as effortless as possible. The shoulder straps and waist belt can be stored out of the way if you prefer to carry the bag by the side handle.

Make It Your Own

Why should you settle for someone else’s attempt at organizing your EMS bag? Choose a bag that allows you to customize the storage options to fit your unique assortment of gear. You need your supplies to be easily accessible, and you don’t want to waste space on pockets or compartments that you don’t need. Meret’s OMNI v.2 ALS/BLS Pack offers extensive flexibility with a customizable main compartment and the option of attaching or removing side modules, elastic loop strips, and deep pockets.
And if you’re looking for style in addition to utility, you can’t ask for a better recommendation than Meret, the brand of EMS bags that’s been featured on NBC’s popular TV series "Trauma." Click here to watch full episodes and see a variety of Meret bags in action!

Easy Access

No matter how much gear fits compactly into your EMS bag, it won’t be of any benefit to you (or your patients) unless you can find the right piece of equipment or EMS supplies as fast as possible. Good EMS bags are organized and feature see-through pockets so you can find what you need. It’s also helpful to have a main compartment that opens completely, allowing you to access any supply in an instant. Think about the supplies you use the most often and make sure there is room to store these items in easily accessible compartments.

Stay Safe

Emergency rescue work can put you in dangerous situations, like working in bad weather, at night, or near high-traffic roads. Your EMS bag should have safety features to maximize your visibility, like the StatPacks G1 Perfusion ALS/BLS EMS Bag’s reflective piping and tie down loops. With a bold, high-visibility stripe on the back of the pack, motorists and pedestrians will be able to see you clearly even in the worst conditions.

Think Long-Term

You may be experienced in emergency care, but you don’t want to be stuck providing “life support” to an EMS bag that breaks down on the job. Make sure any bag you choose has durable construction, rugged material, and reliable zippers. The Meret OMNI v.2 ALS/BLS Pack is made of tough 1200 Denier coated TPE that is resistant to water and stains. In addition, all surfaces that touch the ground are reinforced with PVC for maximum durability.

The Extras

While you don’t want to choose a fancy extra over something essential, like safety or ease of use, well-designed extra features can make the difference between a good bag and a great one. For example, the G1 Perfusion has a safety whistle built into sternum strap buckle for easy accessibility. The Omni v.2 features an enclosed front pocket that keeps paperwork protected and easy to find. Helpful features like these are thoughtfully included in the EMS bag design to help you out on the job.
Have any buying tips of your own? Leave a comment and let us know what you love- or hate- about your EMS bag.

Leave a comment »

• 

Filed under: Focus on Products by Administrator

Tags: buyers guide, ems, emt, equipment