The rise in chronic, infectious disease stresses the healthcare industry, already facing increased expenses. While the industry is expected to continue growing, medical supply buyers need to smartly source new equipment for patient care, at all stages.
Use the purchasing guide below to dig into all types of medical equipment and supplies you may need as a provider. Remember to consider quality and reliability as well as price as you choose between medical wholesale directories.
Key Takeaway: Buying wholesale medical supplies and equipment ensures ample inventory and ensures cost-effectiveness across treatment phases.
Buyer's Guide: 21 Types of Medical Supplies for Wholesale
The essential items for medical supplies at hospitals, doctors offices, and emergency care units include thousands of items from forceps and scalpels to swabs and specialized applicators.
Find your medical equipment list for preventative, diagnostic, and direct care below. Find the types of sanitation, surgical, and other equipment your departments need as wholesale supplies.
Preventative Care Wholesale
For prevention, you'll find wholesalers competing to get your inventory of medical supplies and equipment prepared for anything. Whether it's to combat a health threat or to satisfy hygiene, these types of medical supplies can help get your practice ready.
PPE Supplies
Every hospital or provider can safeguard patients (and themselves) through gloves, gowns, and spray shields from wholesale suppliers. Look for quality and get cost efficiency by buying these season-to-season essentials as you impede the spread of viral infections and prevent contamination or disease.
Surgical Equipment
To prevent infection and biohazards, surgical masks, medical tape, and surgery tools are critical for many healthcare providers. While saving lives, there's no shortage of scalpels, scissors, masks, and gloves that will be required.
Personal Sanitation
For personal comfort and safety, ensure a steady supply of hygiene products like toothpaste, bar soap, floss, shampoos, or floss. These give healthcare providers and patients a direct way to maintain standards of cleanliness without paying for private labels or standard retail prices.
Diagnostic Wholesale Items
For diagnosing patients, there are many types of medical equipment and supplies necessary to support effective treatment. Here are some of the most common devices that medical practices need to get vital information.
Stethoscopes
Amplifying internal sounds, stethoscopes help doctors and nurses listen to the body. Buying stethoscopes at a fair price can be indispensable for giving all routine examinations a better chance at catching warning signs early in treatment.
Otoscopes
An otoscope helps providers look into the ear canal and eardrum. If you need to identify an ear infection and spot blockages or damage, you can order otoscopes for specialized or generic needs. Medical wholesalers will offer options for all ages and diagnostic needs.
Ophthalmoscopes
Next, you may need to consider the eyes. Ophthalmoscopes can identify cataracts, glaucoma, and other retina-based eye conditions. Get these from a wholesaler if you need to equip a large practice or hospital with enough scopes to go around during busy seasons.
Blood Pressure Measuring Devices
Measuring blood pressure is a signature of almost every patient office visit. Getting blood pressure data is vital for spotting hypertension and getting a picture of cardiovascular health. Medical wholesale supply stores will have digital and more analog types of "sphygmomanometers" to choose from, depending on your practice environment.
Glucometers
Get glucometers from a wholesale supply store for medical equipment to give to patients or to practicing staff. These tools are critical for identifying diabetes. They monitor blood sugar (glucose) levels so that patients can make the right changes to their diet, medications, and lifestyle.
Blood Lancets
To obtain a quick blood sample, blood lancets prick the skin in the simplest and most convenient way possible while treating diabetics and for collecting test specimens. These can supply your medical lab and clinical team for the best results and least amount of patient discomfort.
Treatment Supplies for Wholesale
During direct treatment, there are an almost uncountable array of medical supplies and equipment available from wholesale medical retailers.
Medical Applicators
For better hygiene and accuracy, stock up on medical applicators for all topical treatments of ointment or medication. These help many different departments, from surgical units to labs.
Clinical Swabs
To collect information on wounds, cultures, or other testing needs, you may need stores upon stores of clinical-grade swabs of various types and purposes.
Syringes
To give injections for vaccines or intravenous medicine, all-sized syringes on hand are vital. Choose wholesalers with sufficient stock and for various settings to create a consistent experience for your staff.
Laceration Supplies
If wound sutures and closing strips are needed in your field, you can get wound-healing and infection-reducing supplies from wholesale medical stores. These supplies need to be thrown away, so ensure you never run out.
Dosage Cups
Promise accurate, reliable dosing for patients through wholesale medical measuring cups that are calibrated for safety. These will simplify the dispensing of many liquids intended for digestion.
Feeding Tubes
When patients need around-the-clock care, hospitals require a constant stock of sterile feeding tubes. Delivering nutrition and supporting people in life-threatening states, having consistently available feeding tubes is non-negotiable.
Hospital Beds
You can, of course, buy larger items as wholesale medical supplies, including furniture like patient mattresses that adjust for height and change positions.
Oxygen Tanks
Vital oxygen delivery equipment like tanks, masks, and tubes are also available from wholesale medical sources. For hospitals and specialized practices, the best will offer premium discounts for larger orders.
Wheelchairs
Give mobility while patients are in treatment by having reliable wheelchairs purchased at the best price from a wholesale medical supplier. With varying degrees of comfort and specifications, these stores can satisfy any need.
Maintenance & Sterilization Supplies
Implement top-tier sanitation and sterilization practices throughout your healthcare environment through the right medical wholesale supplies.
Sanitizers and Disinfectants
Wholesale sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, surface sprays and janitorial supplies continue to play a persistent and pivotal role in wholesale digital catalogs as they constantly work to cut the spread of infection.
Aim for varieties that can safely sanitize both hands and surfaces with at least 60 percent alcohol. Through a wholesale surplus of medical supplies like this, you'll ensure a consistent and contaminant-free environment.
Cleaning Brushes
To maintain your medical instruments, buy a good amount of medical brushes to aid the sterilization process. They're an integral part of preventing cross-contamination and thorough cleaning.
Sterile Bags
Biohazard bags, pouches, and wraps can help stop the spread of unintended germs (and their consequences). Protect patient outcomes by having everything you need to preserve the sterility of your equipment through wholesale ordering systems.
Frequently Asked Questions for Wholesale Medical Equipment
What are main categories for medical equipment?
Healthcare professionals, and the FDA, often divide medical supplies or devices into three classes according to the risk they could pose to the public:
- Class 1 are devices posing low-risk, like bandages, some surgical instruments, and non-electric wheelchairs.
- Class 2 includes devices of some risk that need to be analyzed by federal review before coming to market. These are usually more technical, like blood pressure measuring devices.
- Class 3 describes any item that needs pre-market approval, such as vaccines, medications, or new devices to treat specific conditions like pacemakers.
How do medical devices vs. equipment compare?
Medical supplies are typically used once (per patient), whereas medical equipment is often more durable and lasting in the treatment lifecycle.
You can make purchasing agreements for both medical equipment and one-time medical supplies through wholesale ordering, according to the needs of the practice.
What is medical supply inventory in healthcare?
Medical inventory, or medical supply, names the total amount of medical items and equipment in stock for a provider.
Medical supply inventory management or medical inventory control considers every type of device, medication, and all the one-time supplies crucial for patient care, from start to finish.
We offer many resources on inventory management techniques as resources for businesses and organizations of all kinds. Get to know our software, and see how it can streamline process flows.
