Managing Of Hospital Medical Supplies

Healthcare organizations work extremely hard to contain the cost of the medical supplies that are required for appropriate patient care. With the cost of these supplies constantly rising, the management of the supplies, become more and more important. New systems are constantly being implemented to help track the supplies that are used, but this is a very difficult thing to do in a hospital or clinic setting.

Hospital medical supplies cover an extremely wide array of articles. Just a few of the supplies are dressing change IV kits, IV care kits, IV tubing's, IV catheters, and gauze. The number of supplies that are tracked are endless. Medical staff have a long history of not being the greatest at charging for these supplies. They have patient care on their minds and the charging of supplies is not high on their priority list.

Each facility has its own system for tracking of supplies and most of the time it is the size of the facility that determines how complex this system is. Education of the staff is also highly important when it comes to the documentation of supplies used. One of the simplest of systems used to track the medical supplies is by the sticker system. This consists of a coded sticky tag on each article that is to be removed and placed on a patient's charge sheet when the item is used.

Over the years, there have been many systems tried in order to make sure these items where charged for. Many times these systems are not an improvement over what was being used. The cost of supplies that are not documented for charge are lost revenue for the hospital.

It is almost impossible to determine waste, reorder, and replenish supplies, if the supplies are not measured and charged for. There is now a new system that some facilities are trying in order to accomplish the control of supplies. A Radio Frequency Identification system, works by the placement of radio tags on the supplies. The system can then track the supplies where ever they go. This system has proven to work better to identify the article and the last user of the supply, which reduces the inventory loss.

This is just another system that is being tried in order to manage hospital medical supplies. The answer to the problems with the tracking of these supplies is not an easy one, especially when you have staff and patients both involved in the mix. The new health laws and money cuts, only add to this mixture and makes the management of medical supplies even more important.

Dial A Flo

In some instances Dial A Flo will help the nursing staff to be able to assure that the right flow rate is being achieved. What Dial A Flo is, is a dial that allows the nurse to adjust the rate of flow to anything between 5 ml to 250 ml an hour.

Using Dial-A-Flo means that you're going to need a hep lock and a saline syringe in readiness in order to use the equipment. You'll have a preprepped heparin syringe and will be ready to connect your iv tube to the dial a flo mechanism. In order to make the connection, take the dial A flo tube and connect it to the clear cap that you'll find on the end of your iv tube. Take off the clear cap and then attach the dial a flo. The flow on your set should be set to off. Take the bag and take off the tab that is white in color. You'll want to remove the cover of the spike, making sure that at no time do you come in contact with the iv.

Insert the spike into the port of the bag by pushing and twisting slightly. Attach the entire item to the pole. Once you've done so, slightly squeeze the drip area chamber and let go until you reach the line (the fluid line) and once you have switch the Dial a flo into the open position so that your tube can start to fill. When it gets to the end of the fill set it to the off position again. You can now take the clear cap away from the IV tubing. You'll want to touch just the wings of the cannula and connect it with a slight twist.

The use of the Dial A Flo can be more than helpful in regulating the right medication in the right amount, but do be sure that you've done everything correctly and that no contamination of the dial a flow has taken place.

When you reach this point, you'll simply be following the directions of the medication which requires administration. Ensuring that everyone who will come into contact with the Dial A Flo is properly instructed in the use and mechanics of it is imperative in order to ensure the safety of your patient.

I.V. Products and Supplies for Therapy

IV or intravenous infusions are the introduction of fluid or medicated fluid into the veins or somethings into arteries or between the tissues of someone. I.V therapy can be performed for multiple reasons. It is very often used to introduce blood, drugs, or electrolytes when the body is deficient in something or requires a special treatment.

There are a wide range of different IV supplies. The standard I.V. supplies which are used to give intravenous therapy include a needled, a Peripheral line, a central line or another type of line. The central line is applied to a special and specific vein. hey have distinct advantages over the other types in that they can deliver fluids much more rapidly and they have a wider range of ability to supply fluid in that they can allow the application of several types of liquid at the very same time.

In addition, standard I.V. therapy will include a sterile container which holds or houses the fluid for administration. there will be an attachment or a pump that will help to regulate the flow and drop factor. There may also be a warmer or an inflatable cuff that is also used to ensure that the fluid is warmed slightly. In most cases thicker, more viscous fluids and items such as blood are supplied to the patient using this methodology.

The administration of intravenous fluids may at times cause some problems. There are one or two complications which can of course be prevented and there are several which cannot be. Of those, infection is the greatest concern when the skin is compromised. The risk of infection can be minimized by the use of new sterile supplies for every intravenous infusion, by cleansing the entire area around the insertion site. Inflammation of the veins, another complication of the IV therapy is something which must be watched for and treated immediately. While some complications are not able to be prevented in IV therapy, for the most part, IV therapy is safe and effective when necessary to give fluids or medications to a patient in a way that is immediately effective. In order to ensure that all I.V. therapy is effective and safe, the use of the best medical supplies and I.V. products is an absolute necessity. Hospital administration is responsible for ensuring the efficacy of intravenous products and medications as well as the supplies by which they are delivered. The hospitals today take great care in the ordering of supplies for I.V. therapy in order to ensure the health and safety of all patients.

The Dial-A-Flo

For some patients, a Dial-A-Flo will allow nursing staff to ensure that the proper drip rate is being achieved. In general, this dial will allow you to adjust the rate of flow from anywhere between 5ml – 250ml per hour.

The application of a Dial-A-Flo will require that you have a heparin lock and saline syringe ready to go. Begin by taking the heparin syringe prepared in advance. You will then be ready to connect the IV tubing to the Dial-A-Flo machine.

This is done by taking the Dial-A-Flo tubing and connecting it to the clear flat cap that can be found at the end of the IV tubing. You should remove the clear cap and twist it on. At this time, the flow should be set to off. Now, take the IV bag and remove the white tab. You can then remove the spike cover that will part of the tubing, ensuring you don’t make contact with the IV.

Now, take the spike, and place it into the bag’s port by twisting and pushing it into it. This can now be attached to the pole. Squeeze the drip chamber and release until the fluid line has been reached. Now, you can switch the Dial-A-Flo to the open position and allow the tubing to begin filling with the fluid, when it reaches the end, switch it back to the off position. You can now remove the clear cap from the IV tubing. Touching only the wings of the blunt cannula, you can remove it from the package and connect it with a twisting motion.

At this point, you would follow the directions of the medication that you will be giving to the patient to ensure that is has proper delivery at all times. Keeping in mind of course that the Dial-A-Flo may need different connections and settings based on the tubing that you are using. Because of that, you should continue to monitor the requirements that are in place per the issuing company.

This will be a powerful tool when you are delivering medications intravenously. Because of that, it is vital that the nursing staff that will be using it is trained on how to operate it successfully. This includes how to properly calibrate the unit. Just like any other device, there is still a margin of error that needs to be checked. Tubing and flow will all have an impact on its success. A good formula for doing this will be to monitor the number of drops per minute that the mechanism is allowing for. Divide this number by 12 and verify that is the number you have every 5 seconds, or you can divide it by 4 for 15 second counts.

Ensuring the proper delivery of medication will be important for the safety and the wellbeing of the patient.

Keeping IV Admixture Devices Among Your Pharmacy Supplies

As a pharmacy, you never know when you will be called on to provide that bit of equipment that someone so desperately needs. Although far more commonplace in hospitals, neighborhood pharmacies will occasionally be presented with requests for home IV tubing supplies, and the filters and adapters that go along with them. Having these simple items in stock can be the difference between someone getting to go home, or needing to stay in the hospital. Help to make your patients as comfortable as possible during this time by keeping these common pharmacy supplies in stock.


Regardless of what manner of tubing your pharmacy supplies require, Wolf Medical Supply,can provide you with a full source of the tubing, filters and other supplies that you need. When patients require in-home intravenous therapy, your pharmacy must be able to supply them with all of the required pieces, or they will be forced to take their business elsewhere.


Keeping the Vial-Mate Adapter in stock as a regular part of your pharmacy supplies will enable your customers to make use of many medications that require mixing at the time of administration. This simple to use device allows your customers to mix concentrated forms of medication into IV fluid bags for proper home delivery. Along with all of the basic tubing needs, these items will help make your pharmacy supplies well known for being able to provide proper IV therapy to patients who are in need. Help your lifelong customers to stay at the pharmacy they have trusted for their entire lives by investing in the proper IV therapy supplies now. With a long shelf life, these items take up little space and will always be ready when one of your trusted patients requires intravenous therapy in the comfort of their own homes. By having these common items available for purchase in your pharmacy, you can continue your long-standing reputation of having everything that your patients need, and being a trusted family pharmacy for generations.

Options for IV Administration Set Stocking

Not every situation can be handled with a single type of Administration Set , and knowing that your supply room has what you require can save time and frustration among your staff. Taking the time to consider your business's needs now can make maintaining your IV Administration stock easier.Whether you are ordering supplies for a hospital, an infusion center, or a physician's office, having your basic supplies stocked and ready for any eventuality is critical to the continued success of your business. At  Wolf Medical Supply, Inc, we want your company to be prepared for everything, and that means supplying you with an easy way to order IV Administration Sets and supplies for your business.

Allergic reactions are a constant concern in any field of the medical business. Due to the high number of patients with latex allergies, we insist that all of our IV Administration Sets are latex-free and non-DEHP. Because of the demand for excellence from our customers, you can be confident that our latex free products are safe for your company and your patients. Many of our IV Administration Sets are lipid resistant, giving you less to worry about when administering lipid-based medications.

To enable you to provide your patients with only the safest materials available, we insist that only non-DEHP tubing be used in our IV Administration Sets. Preventing di-ethylhexyl phthalate's use in our products allows you to administer all types of common IV liquid without worry of having this chemical softener leaching from the PVC IV bag into the liquid. Just another benefit that you can rely on when you use Wolf Medical Supply, for your IV Administration Set needs.

Another feature of our line of IV administration sets is the male luer lock that is included in every IV set we carry. The male luer lock allows for greater security when using needle-free valves  to introduce additional medicines intravenously.

The rotating function of the luer lock allows your staff to insure a tight seal whenever injecting new medications into the IV line, so you know that you patient is getting all of the medication without the risk of any spilling out due to an improper connection, inadvertent twisting, or accidental catheter disconnection. Any time you are introducing pressurized injection materials, the luer lock option creates a more reliable means of introduction than you could achieve otherwise.

Our full selection of IV Administration Sets includes both vented and non-vented options, allowing you to select whichever option is required. The more traditional non-vented IV set will be used for everyday situations and whenever a PVC bag is used for introducing medication into the tubing.

Relying on the vacuum created as solution exits the source is not always an option, however. For those situations when glass containers must be used, having vented IV set in stock can provide  a means of introducing air into the bottle so that the solution will drip into the IV line.