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A comprehensive guide to select the right ventilator for your hospital
Date: November 29, 2023 | Posted by: Vikram Aditya Tirthani
Date: November 29, 2023 | Posted by: Vikram Aditya Tirthani
In the ever-evolving healthcare landscape, selecting the right ventilator for your hospital is a critical decision that significantly impacts patient care. To make an informed choice, consider the following crucial factors that integrate insights from factors to consider in the selection process, technical specifications, and budget considerations.
Different patient demographics necessitate varied ventilator specifications. Neonates, adults, and elderly patients have distinct respiratory needs, and choosing a ventilator that caters to these specific requirements is crucial.
Assess the ventilator’s capability to provide adaptable respiratory support for various medical conditions. The ventilator should offer customizable settings for tidal volume, pressure, and respiratory rate to accommodate a spectrum of patient needs.
Evaluate the ventilator’s functionality, including its ability to deliver different ventilation modes, ease of use, and compatibility with other medical equipment.
A few key safety features that should never be compromised and are essential to check while finalizing the device are built-in alarms for high or low pressure, disconnections, and power failure. Safety valves, Infection control measures, and parameter monitoring precision are other essential safety features that should not be ignored.
Before connecting a patient to a ventilator, comprehensive pre-operational checks are vital to ensure patient safety and the ventilator’s effectiveness. This process involves evaluating various components and alarms to prevent malfunctions during ventilation. While these checks were traditionally manual and time-consuming, modern ventilators now feature single-click automatic testing, significantly streamlining the process. This innovation enhances efficiency, reduces the risk of errors, and underscores a commitment to patient safety.
The alarm levels the user selects are critical for signaling patient-specific events. Setting these levels individually for each patient is a challenging yet essential task. Some ventilators simplify this process by proposing alarm settings based on patient data the doctor enters. This not only eases the workload for doctors but also saves crucial time during emergency patient setups. Additionally, certain machines allow clinicians to automatically optimize alarms during usage with a single button press.
In the high-pressure environment of an ICU, where emergencies are frequent, human errors can occur. To ensure patient safety and prevent mistakes, many ventilator brands provide a range of settable values for each ventilator control based on patient type. Advanced machines adjust these safety ranges dynamically, considering patient type, alarm limits, and other interdependent parameters. This feature adds an extra layer of safety in critical situations.
Ventilators employ different technologies such as compressor-based, blower/turbine-based, and piston-based mechanisms. Evaluate each technology’s pros and cons, considering factors like noise levels, precision, and maintenance complexity.
Assess technical aspects like the ventilator’s mode of operation, performance, and reliability. Look for advanced algorithms and sensors that enhance patient comfort and safety.
Ensure the ventilator has an intuitive user interface for healthcare professionals. Consider compatibility with other medical devices and electronic health record systems.
In today’s scenario with different users handling the same patients in the same ICU, it is important to have a look at the patient’s history, and that is possible only if the machine has the facility to store patient data.
Look for ventilators offering a wide range of ventilation modes, including pressure control, volume control, or pressure support, to ensure flexibility in addressing diverse patient needs.
Machines with built-in clinical tools make the life of the clinical easy by assisting him In making the right decisions at the right time.
Weigh the initial costs against long-term benefits and consider maintenance costs and frequency. Opt for a ventilator that offers a good return on investment in terms of durability and minimal repairs. Here is a formula for your reference to calculate the overall lifetime cost of the machine – ” The initial cost of the machine with a standard warranty (usually 1 year) + Additional Warranty cost + CMC cost for the rest of the year till the lifetime of the machine + Per year consumable cost + (Accessories Cost per patient *10 patients in a month *12 months * Lifetime of the machine)”
When assessing ventilator costs, hospitals should scrutinize the warranty offered by manufacturers. While most provide a standard 1-year warranty, some offer optional or standard extended warranties, extending up to 5 years. Opting for extended warranties covering essential parts is often cost-effective, ensuring potential issues are addressed without extra costs during the coverage period, ensuring long-term cost-effectiveness and uninterrupted patient care.
Hospitals need to consider maintenance costs in ventilator procurement. Evaluating regular upkeep, potential repairs, and the availability and affordability of replacement parts is crucial. Opting for a ventilator with manageable maintenance costs significantly contributes to long-term financial efficiency, ensuring sustained and reliable functionality.
Understanding a ventilator’s expected lifespan helps hospitals gauge ownership costs. Ventilators designed for extended use prove more cost-effective over time, requiring fewer replacements and reducing maintenance expenses. After a year, the depreciated value of such niche products decreases significantly. Products with low life expectancy or old versions may face issues of spare part availability, making replacement unavoidable.
Assess your hospital’s budget constraints and strike a balance between affordability and functionality. Explore options for financing, leasing, or negotiating bulk purchase discounts with manufacturers or ventilator suppliers.
Service support is a critical and most important aspect of the selection process. Hospitals should inquire about the service support provided by ventilator manufacturers or suppliers. This includes the availability of technical assistance, qualification of support engineers, training, certification, response time to issues, and the efficiency of troubleshooting procedures.
Given the dynamic nature of hospital staff, with changes in shifts and replacements, robust training mechanisms are crucial. It is essential to have the right application and training support from the company to ensure that the staff is adequately trained. But a few companies are also coming up with new ways to counter this problem including online training programs or automated tools on the machine to tackle this challenge.
Ensure the selected ventilator complies with regulatory standards and certifications for patient safety and regulatory compliance.
Choose a ventilator system that allows for scalability and upgradability to integrate with future advancements, ensuring your investment is protected in the long run.
In conclusion, a meticulous evaluation of patient-specific requirements, technology considerations, advanced features, cost implications, regulatory compliance, and future-proofing strategies is essential when selecting the right ventilator for your hospital. By considering these factors collectively, your hospital can make a well-informed decision that aligns with your patient’s and healthcare professionals’ unique needs, ensuring optimal respiratory care and enhancing overall patient outcomes.
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