Tune-up Advice from the Front Lines

Health Data Management Magazine, February 1, 2009

The secret to a successful cart implementation, many adopters say, is to enable nurses to test-drive the hardware.

In this way, the nurses can determine if they carts are easy to push from room to room, notes Bill Siebert, technical services director at Northside Hospital in Atlanta.

Siebert stresses that a lower-cost cart that nurses won't use will prove to be a big waste of money. "You may get a better deal from one vendor, but once you buy these carts, you have to get four years' use out of them to make it worthwhile," he says. "If nurses don't like the cart, you're going to pay for your decision every day."

Cinda Morrow, manager of the clinical information services department at West Georgia Health System in LaGrange, Ga., warns hospitals to make sure they have adequate storage space for their carts that aren't in use.

"We have alcoves on most floors, so it works out fine. But storage may be an issue for some."

Hospitals also should ask their cart vendor tough questions about the warranty on parts and labor, advises Karen Henz, senior systems analyst at University of Colorado Hospital, Denver. "Make sure you know who pays for shipping the damaged cart back to the manufacturer," she says. "Most vendors require the customer to pay."

Adds Morrow: "If you select a vendor who can repair or exchange a cart quickly, it will help your nurses' productivity."

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