5 Key Steps to Consider When Buying Surgical Instruments for Healthcare Facilities
Surgical instruments are a necessity for healthcare facilities that perform any sort of surgical procedure; they are a critical component that cannot be overlooked. Because the goal is to make a decision that is both cost-effective and ensures the patient’s safety, their acquisition is an especially delicate matter that must be handled with care. For you, this means looking for the best surgical capital solutions and medical equipment financing options that can give you the instruments you need at a price you can afford.
To make this happen, we will cover five key steps to consider when buying surgical instruments for your healthcare facility.
1. Take a Look at Your Inventory and Decide What You Need
Whenever embarking on a purchasing journey, it is always advisable to begin by looking through your inventory to decide what you need. Even if you think you only need certain things, it would still help to take a look around and determine if you need to purchase anything else. For example, you may have been running short of certain supplies and did not know it. By catching it before you truly need to stock up, not only will you avoid any headaches down the line that may arise from any procurement delays, but you may also be able to secure a lower price from the supplier because you are making a larger purchase than was originally intended.
Along similar lines, it will also be helpful to create a surgical instrument inventory and keep track of everything you have. As long as it’s always up-to-date, you will be able to know with certainty which supplies are running low, which are most utilized so you can acquire more of them, which are not being utilized for the opposite reason, which are prone to malfunctioning so you know not to get them from a certain supplier, and other related insights that will help you make better purchasing decisions.
2. Determine Your Budget
After creating a list of everything you need, the next step in your journey is to determine your budget so you can make the most cost-effective decision for your facility. This is helpful for a variety of reasons. For instance, you with a budget at will be able to decide if you truly need more of the same equipment, or if you can afford more of it, to secure price we mentioned earlier. You may also find that you are able to afford instruments paired with newer technologies, which can lead to both higher surgeon and patient satisfaction; surgeons have more confidence in the tools they use and patients know with certainty they are being treated with the latest and greatest the medical world has to offer.
3. Choose Between Reusable and Disposable Surgical Instruments
A consequence of determining your budget is that you realize what you can and cannot afford, which leads to a choice between reusable and disposable surgical instruments. As you can imagine, disposable surgical instruments are less expensive than their reusable counterparts for that very reason: they can only be used once and must be disposed of afterward. Reusable instruments, on the other hand, are made from higher-grade material and must be reprocessed after every use to avoid cross-contamination and infections, and must also be properly maintained to extend their useful lifespan. This makes them much more expensive, but also gives them the advantage that they do not need to be replaced as often.
4. Perform Market Research and Choose a Supplier
Once you have everything covered on your end, it’s time to look outward and take the next step: market research in which you look at various surgical instrument suppliers to determine which one will be best for you and your facility. As you do so, keep in mind that most manufacturers outsource their surgical instruments to a variety of suppliers, resulting in nearly identical inventories between most. This means that the difference between each will most likely come in the form of varying costs, customizable options, and discounts based on order quantity. Get quotes from each of your options, verify whether or not you can make use of discounts, and choose accordingly.
Make sure to also look for medical equipment financing options that can increase your buying power and open up a previously restricted capital budget, both of which give you a lot more flexibility in the procurement process. For example, if you do not have immediate cash outlay for the instruments you need, financing will allow you to conserve what you have so you can reinvest it in your facility, thereby improving your bottom line without negatively affecting your current scope of business.
5. Make a Decision
The final step in your purchase journey is to make a decision; choose a supplier based on how well the quotes they provided match your needs and start talking business. As part of this step, always keep a backup supplier or two in case your primary choice does not have the supplies you need, makes any last minute changes that don’t sit well with you, or just in case something comes up and you need someone else. This will also be beneficial the next time you need to make a purchase because they were already vetted by you; you had previously decided that they were good enough to do business with, just not at that point in time.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, you want surgical instruments that are both cost-effective and will fulfill all of your healthcare facility’s needs. You need to make careful deliberations and weigh many factors until you arrive at an option that is not only best for you, but also for your patients. By keeping the five steps we covered today in mind, you will be able to make an informed decision that does just this. Let’s take one last look:
- Take a look at your inventory and decide what you need
- Determine your budget
- Choose between reusable and disposable surgical instruments
- Perform market research and choose a supplier
- Make a decision