Paper On Ordering Supplies And Equipment Research Paper Example

There are numerous medical supplies and equipment used in any healthcare facility, ranging from diagnostic supplies to surgical supplies (Carmody, 2014). Examples of medical supplies include syringes, cervical scrapers, speculums, medical gloves, gowns and cotton tip applicators.
A syringe is an equipment made up of a simple pump containing a plunger that can be pushed or pulled along the inside of a cylindrical barrel. These movements enable it to suck in or expel liquids through a hole at the tip of the barrel. A hypodermic needle is usually attached to the open tip of the syringe in order to direct the flow of the liquid. The medical uses of syringes include administering drugs intravenously into the bloodstream and conducting blood donations.
Cervical scrappers/spatulas are blunt wooden equipment used for scraping, removing and collecting the cervical cells from the different lesions located in the cervix or the vagina. The purpose of collecting the cells is to subject them to a Pap smear analysis to detect the presence of cancer. Only professionals only use cervical scrapers.
Speculums are medical equipment used for examining body orifices. They are designed according to the shape of particular orifices such as the vagina, ear, rectum, nose and mouth. Speculums dilate the orifice for better examination by a practitioner. Speculums used in surgical units are made of stainless steel and are sterilized after use. In contrast, those used in emergency units and doctors’ offices are usually made of plastic and are disposed of after use.
Medical gloves are materials worn on the hands by caregivers when conducting medical examinations and procedures on patients in order to prevent contamination. Some gloves are lubricated with cornstarch on the inside in order to make them easier to wear. The standard material for making medical gloves are polymers such as latex, neoprene and vinyl. Latex gloves are preferable during surgical procedures because they have a greater sensitivity to touch and offer excellent control and precision required for such procedures. However, latex gloves are becoming less favorable to practitioners because of allergic reactions associated with them. In this case, practitioners may use alternative high-grade non-latex gloves such as polyisoprene.
Hospital gowns are long loosely fitting clothing worn by patients and professionals. Professionals wear gowns when conducting medical examinations. On the other hand, patients wear gown when undergoing medical tests or when bedridden. Gowns are usually loosely-fitting in order to grant caregivers easy access to the part of the patient’s body that requires care. Gowns can be made from either cotton or plastic.
Cotton tip applicators consist of long wooden handles with small balls of cotton attached at one of their tips. Their uses include cleaning instruments and applying medication on wounds.
1. Why is it important to order supplies on time?
The priority of any healthcare facility is the wellbeing of the patient. As such, practitioners should ensure that they do not run out of medical supplies since such shortages may compromise the health of a patient, especially during emergencies. Shortages usually cause unnecessary delays as practitioners waste time making rush orders instead of treating the patient. In addition, shortages may cause a practitioner to improvise alternative equipment or supplies that may not deliver the intended treatment accurately. For this reason, placing timely orders for supplies ensures smooth medical operations that do not compromise on the quality of treatment.
Secondly, placing timely orders prevent mistakes associated with rush orders. These mistakes may include ordering for wrong equipment or supplies, overstocking or understocking on items that the facility has, and purchasing faulty supplies due to limited time for inspection. As a result, the health facility may incur additional costs of re-ordering supplies or following up on reimbursements for defective supplies.
2. List and described the definitions of the controlled substance schedules.
Controlled substances refer to those whose supply, purchase and use are restricted by the federal government. The constitution mandates the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to enforce the use of such substances. Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations divides controlled substances into five categories (DEA, 2006). These classifications depend on whether the substances have any accepted medical use in the country, the possibility of their abuse, and their potential to cause addiction when abused.
Schedule I substances refer to those substances that do not have any acceptable medical use during treatment in the country. Also, they have no accepted safety standards for use in medical treatment and their potential for abuse is very high. Examples of these substances include heroin, marijuana and methylene-dimethoxy-methamphetamine. Schedule II substances include those whose potential for abuse is very high. In addition, their regular use causes serious physical and psychological dependence. Examples of these substances include opium, morphine and codeine.
Schedule III substances are those whose abuse potential is lower than those in Schedules I and II. Examples of these substances include Vicodin and Tylenol. Schedule IV substances have a lower abuse potential than those in Schedule III. Examples of these substances include alprazolam, propoxyphene and lorazepam. Schedule V substances have a much lower abuse potential than those in Schedule IV. Their composition includes limited quantities of particular narcotics and stimulants. These substances have accepted uses in medical treatment for purposes such as analgesics and antidiarrheal. An example of Schedule V substances is Robitussin.
3. Which of the controlled substance schedules is most likely to be prescribed to patients in a medical office, and why?
Drugs that fall under the Schedules II to V have a limited medicinal use in treatments. As a result, they can be administered, prescribed or dispensed by practitioners registered with the DEA or those exempted from registration under Title 21 stipulations. In addition, their potential for abuse is relatively lower than those listed in Schedule 1.
Conversely, the law prohibits practitioners and other citizens from stocking, prescribing, using or selling substances listed in Schedule I because they have no accepted medicinal use. These substances have very high abuse potential and cause severe psychological effects and dependence when regularly taken. Thus, they are not likely to be prescribed in a medical office. However, they may be used on a limited scale in bona fide research.
4. Where should those controlled substances be stored, and why?
The law obligates all registered practitioners to install safety controls to prevent controlled substances from Schedule II to V from falling into the wrong hands through theft or mismanagement. Section 1301.71(a) of the CFR recommends storing these substances under lock and key in a secure steel cabinet or a safe (DEA, 2006). These cabinets should correspond to the Class V security of the U.S. government. The reason for the high-security measures stems from the highly addictive nature of these substances that may cause physical, psychological and social impairments on the users. In addition, the security measures are meant to deter black-market sellers who may compromise the contents of these substances and peddle them on the streets to unsuspecting users. For these reasons, the law also prohibits practitioners from granting access to these substances to convicts with offences relating to such substances, or those whose registration has been denied or revoked by the DEA.

References

Carmody, B. (2014, September 15). 9 Types of Medical Supplies. Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://medicalsupplies.about.com/od/Med-Product-Reviews/tp/9-Types-Of-Medical-Supplies.htm
United States Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). (2006). Practitioner's Manual: An Informational Outline of the Controlled Substances Act. Retrieved from http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/manuals/pract/pract_manual012508.pdf