Home healthcare equipment is more important than ever. It was already growing in importance prior to the global pandemic, but the COVID-19 crisis has made technology like this ever more pronounced in how essential it is to many homes.
Impact of healthcare equipment
Before the pandemic, many people that needed access to healthcare equipment and medical supplies would just go to see their doctor. However, as restrictions were put into place in many communities, doctor offices started seeing fewer patients, if any at all. On top of that, travel to anywhere outside the home could be risky for contracting the disease.
Comfort and safety
Given how many doctor appointments have now become virtual visits handled over the Internet via video call, the need for specific healthcare equipment has moved from doctor offices to the home. Just getting vitals, such as weight, heart rate, and blood pressure, is still crucial to medical practitioners, but they can’t do it for themselves now. Fortunately, most homes already have one bathroom scale. Many patients have since added blood pressure cuffs or monitors to their array of home healthcare technology so that they can get their own vitals and provide them to their doctors.
A very common piece of home healthcare equipment seen in many homes is that of the CPAP machine. Considered the gold standard for sleep apnea, these machines maintain sufficient airflow in a user’s breathing while they sleep, preventing a lack of oxygen or even keeping their breathing happening.
Useful medical equipment to have at home
Blood sugar testing meters are common medical equipment for diabetics. They need to check their current blood sugar level at least once each day, and sometimes more, in order to make sure that they are keeping their levels where they need to be. This is also useful in knowing how they respond to certain foods so they can alter their diet accordingly with their blood sugar needs. Some of the most home medical supplies are available at large box stores. In Canada, it is possible to find home health equipment at shoptrinity.ca or at other retailers who provide medical products for home use.
Recommended by doctors
There was a time that home healthcare equipment and medical supplies were only available through prescription or through orders via their doctors. This is still the case for many heavily regulated things and items, but not everything. The rise of e-commerce over the last few decades made it very easy to order nearly anything you need and have it delivered to your doorstep, and these kinds of supplies and hardware are no different.
In fact, it is now possible to sometimes order the very same brands, makes, and models of many things that doctor offices use themselves, which is helpful in maintaining quality of care and consistent standards. Nurses are always a bit more comfortable writing down your blood pressure numbers from your home if you use the same brand of cuff that they have in their own clinical setting.
Final thoughts
Retail options sometimes yield great innovations that help too in regards to home healthcare equipment and supplies. For example, a doctor or pharmacist will often give prescriptions in bottles that have a bulk supply of pills in them, making it hard to know how many are left. On the other hand, a retail outlet might sell rainbow colored pill trays, making it easier to organize your medications and know if you’ve taken them for that day.
Elena Deeley did her degree in psychology at the University of Edinburgh. She has an ongoing interest in mental health and well-being.
