For health care professionals, bladder scans can be a lifesaver — literally. Not only do they make it easy to get an accurate read on your patient’s urinary retention, but they can also help you avoid an invasive urinary catheter, which can spare your patients a nasty infection.
But what happens when your bladder scanners stop working?
If your bladder scanner is giving you false data, you won’t be able to make the best clinical decisions. And ultimately, your patients won’t get the best treatment.
To keep your patients safe and your health care team working well, you’ll want to make sure your medical equipment is up to date. Here are the top four signs that it’s time to upgrade your medical equipment and get a new bladder scanner.
1. Your Readings Don’t Make Sense
Your bladder scanner has one job, but your patient’s health outcomes depend on it. A bad bladder scanner reading can have serious consequences for your patient’s health.
For instance, bladder scanners can misread the amount of urine that remains in a patient’s bladder. If your machine makes this mistake, you’ll end up catheterizing your patient at the wrong time. This exposes your patient to the risk of urinary tract infection from the catheter, which can seriously complicate your patient’s already compromised health status.
When you start to see your bladder scanners breaking down and making these mistakes, it’s time to purchase new medical equipment.
2. They Don’t Have Real-Time Imaging
In one study in 2011, researchers found that the new technology of real-time imaging made a big difference in bladder scanners’ ability to accurately scan the amount of retained urine. In fact, bladder scanners without this technology overestimated urine volume by an average of over 16 percent.
And if you’re overestimating your patients’ retained urine volume, you’ll think it’s time to insert a urinary catheter when it’s not.
Modern bladder scanners, like the Infinium Vioscan, come equipped with this real-time imaging to help you get the most accurate results at the bedside. If your machines still don’t have this technology, it’s time for an upgrade.
3. They’re Not Sensitive Enough
Does your bladder scanner have trouble distinguishing between your patient’s retained urine and other liquid in their abdomen, such as ascites?
If so, it leads to overestimating your patients’ retained urine volume. This causes — you guessed it — unnecessary urinary catheterization. And that puts your patient at risk of dangerous infections.
In addition, it might mask other symptoms. For instance, it can mask increasing abdominal ascites. This can cause confusion and delay accurate treatment.
If your bladder scanner is no longer sensitive enough to focus on what it should be measuring, new medical equipment is in your future.
The Best Bladder Scanners and More
Your bladder scanner is an indispensable clinical tool. But an outworn one won’t help you or your patients. With this guide, you’ll know when it’s time to replace your old equipment with new bladder scanners.
Are you looking for the best bladder scanners to replace your outworn medical equipment? Outpatient Supply specializes in cutting edge medical technology, from the operating room to the outpatient setting. Contact them today to find your best bladder scanner at the best price.