For sanitary reasons, you must either disinfect your medical supplies after each use, or use disposable medical products. Disinfecting can be a hassle and after you account for the labor to do this, using disposables probably ends up costing about the same or even less.

When patients see disposable medical paper, garments, gloves and trays, it instills a sense of confidence. They know that backless gown they're wearing has never been worn by another person and there's no possibility of getting someone else's germs by wearing a poorly cleaned gown. When they see you open a minor surgery instrument tray and snap on those disposable gloves, they know they're safe from contamination.

1. Give your patients paper gowns by locating a disposable medical supply company.

2. Get the necessities: at the forefront of medical disposable products is the always necessary disposable glove.

3. Find all your surgical instruments by using disposable medical supplies conveniently packaged in single use trays.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Save on laundry soap by using disposable medical garments

You need disposable gowns for your patients. Some patients may need disposable shorts. Your staff may choose to utilize disposable scrubs, coveralls or lab coats. Depending on what your specialty is, there is most likely a disposable garment to fit your needs.

I recommend: Find a wide assortment of disposable garments at the Medical Supplies & Equipment Company. Choose disposable pediatric gowns from Personal Touch Health Care Apparel; they offer gowns with patterns to put a smile on a nervous child's face and ease their fears.

Use disposable medical trays instead of disinfecting the same instruments over and over

Reusing costly surgical instruments may seem like a good idea at first. But during the sterilization process, the instruments can be damaged, or even not sterilized completely. Dr. William P. Murphy, Jr. developed the disposable medical tray back in the 1960s. Packaging all the necessary instruments into one disposable tray has transformed the medical industry; the trays are used in most hospitals today.

I recommend: Check out EUROBAND's huge selection of all sorts of trays for different procedures. If you're a neurosurgeon, DTR Medical now offers a single-use craniotomy procedure tray.

Find a disposable gloves manufacturer to stock your practice

Disposable gloves are a must in the health care industry. They protect the patient from your germs and you from being contaminated by an open wound or the like. There are no ifs, ands or buts about this: you must wear disposable gloves.

I recommend: Use powder-free vinyl exam gloves from the Online Medical Supply Company and quit worrying about patients with latex allergies. Tillotson Healthcare Corporation provides a selection of exam gloves made from different materials, like vinyl and nitrile.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Paper products are also available from medical disposable companies. They sell rolls of paper for exam tables to protect the surface of your table from the germs of each patient.