Patient monitoring systems are an essential piece of equipment used by a variety of healthcare professionals. No matter the discipline of medicine, when a patient needs vital signs monitored, these are the machines that give healthcare providers the real-time data they need to effectively treat a patient and keep a close watch on their conditions.
These systems come in numerous styles and with a plethora of features, all differing from one brand to the next. Correspondingly, as is the nature of most medical equipment, new systems can be quite costly.
For those needing the use of these systems, a refurbished patient monitoring system is an attractive alternative to the higher cost accompanied by newer systems.
Below are the standard functions of a patient monitoring system and how they are used in healthcare environments.
About Patient Monitoring Systems
Patient monitoring systems relay data to healthcare professionals via a digital interface. Depending on the design and primary functions of the monitoring system, the data can be read on a screen as is common with most bedside monitoring systems.
Data can also be relayed to a distant monitoring system such as with remote applications or to another in-house monitoring station. The transfer of monitored data to different stations is also referred to as telemetry or biotelemetry, and these are the titles of common departments found in most major hospitals.
We most commonly associate these monitoring systems with the squiggly lines and beeps of a heart monitor that keeps track of a patient’s heart rate and other vital signs. These are the monitors most often featured in Hollywood movies or on a variety of hospital drama television shows.
These monitors are capable of doing much more than merely recording or displaying data, and a refurbished patient monitoring system is just as functionally viable as a newer system.
Common Monitoring System Functions
Functions of patient monitoring systems can range from relaying simple heart rate data to blood pressure readings, glucose measurements or any other targeted interest of a specific patient.
For most common patient monitoring systems, data readouts can list the following:
- Cardiac Monitoring
- Body Temperature
- Blood glucose
- Hemodynamic Monitoring
- Neurological Monitoring
- Childbirth
- Respiratory Monitoring
The patient monitoring system used is often specially designed to monitor specific functions and has detailed instructions for each particular use and how to read the data.
Conventional systems generally incorporate a few standard data display features, with the most common features including data displays of heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and pulse oximetry.
Choosing a Patient Monitoring System
It’s not a big surprise that any piece of equipment that you might find in a hospital is going to be operationally complicated and additionally come with a high price tag when bought brand new.
Refurbished monitoring systems are an attractive option for doctors and other healthcare specialists because they offer the quality functions needed to monitor patients along with coming with a much-reduced cost.
Though newer systems are nice to have, if you’re starting in private practice and need to be mindful of your budget, choosing refurbished monitoring systems over newer ones can be highly cost-effective.
Once you’ve decided which type of monitoring systems you need for your patients, consider purchasing refurbished monitoring systems to keep costs low.
