Healthcare professionals are on the frontline of every emergency and illness, keeping our communities safe. A central part of that safety is properly cleaning and disinfecting equipment to stop the spread of diseases and infections, whether that equipment is a scalpel from surgery or a barcode scanner that helps track patient information.
In healthcare you need barcode scanners, tablets, mobile computers, printers, and more that are safe to use in these unique environments. Do you know which products are safe to clean with disinfectant-ready housings, which ones are anti-microbial, and what the difference is?
Disinfectant-Ready vs. Antimicrobial Surfaces
Antimicrobial and antibacterial products have special additives in the product that may help inhibit mold and bacteria growth surfaces. This may be an important first step in protecting your patients, but the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention still recommends in their “Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health Care Facilities” that “Cleaning and disinfecting environmental surfaces as appropriate is fundamental in reducing their potential contribution to the incidence of healthcare-associated infections.”
Disinfectant-ready products are designed to specifically address the CDC concerns for cleaning products. Disinfectant-ready housings are built to withstand frequent exposure to recommended cleaning solutions, allowing healthcare professionals to execute the 5 rights of patient safety—right patient, right drug, right time, right dose and right route—while minimizing the risk of spreading infectious diseases.
Standard products like scanners are made from PC/ABS materials that are easily penetrated by chemical cleaners because the plastic’s molecules are loosely packed, which over time will discolor and crack the rubber and plastic and may even corrode electronics. This reduces the safety of your products and increases your costs on replacements.
Instead, look for healthcare-specific products that use different types of plastic with tightly packed molecules to prevent harsh chemicals from seeping into the products and ruining them.
What Products Are Recommended for Healthcare?
What products can you use in a hospital and other healthcare facilities? A range of disinfectant-ready products including scanners, mobile computers, and sleds, exist for healthcare.
Antimicrobial Products
- Barcode Scanners
- Mobile Computers
- Tablets
- Label Printers
- Keyboards
Disinfectant-Ready Products
- Barcode Scanners
- Mobile Computers
Other Healthcare Products
- Barcode Scanners
- Mobile Computers
- Tablets
- Wristband Printers & Wristbands
- Label Printers & Labels
- Scales
- Touchscreens
- Keyboards
