Pulse Oximeter

Hello,

I want to purchase a portable pulse oximeter. Anyone know of a good, reputable brand that can be used in a clinical environment? I have looked for surgical supply company in my area and no one carries them, so, I am going to try looking online.

Many thanks,

RiverNurse
What about contacting a respiratory supply company?

Here's another thread on this subject: http://allnurses.com/general-nursing...er-346293.html

Hi all,I found one - thanks to this site. Take care, RiverNurse

Putting my nurse advocate hat on:Nurses should not be purchasing biomedical equipment to use at work.Pulse oximeters require yearly testing and certification of calibration by Bio Med department. You are putting yourself needlessly at risk of lawsuit should anything happen with inaccurate results from use of personal equipment.Our homecare agency now is requiring this year all nurses to bring in personal BP cuff to perform calibration testing to verify accuracy. We do not allow them to carry own glucometer due to potential variability of testing equipment.This is Medicare/Medicaid and JCAHO standards you would be ignoring and opening yourself up to nice lawsuit.Start documenting up the chain of command need for equipment repair/replacement including copy to risk management is MUCH better strategy.

Yes, you are correct, and thanks for the insight. I had an incident on my floor where only one of the "dyna-maps" on the floor had the only "puls ox" that worked. When I needed it - it was not available - and is my understanding - that much equipment needs replacing and yet, due to budget constraints, has not been. I did purchase a pulse oximeter of clinical quality for my own personal use, but this does bring up the issue of pt care and lack of equipment on the floor and what recourse we have to this problem. Thanks,RiverNurse

I bought a small pulse oximeter on Amazon, It hangs from a lanyard. It was $85.

Have you ever heard of a physician bringing in own EKG machine or bronchocope from home to use for a patient???Why nurses seem to feel that they need to supply essential equipment to perform their work: make your facility get the needed equipment.... the marble tile repair will just need to wait!

Quote from NRSKarenRNHave you ever heard of a physician bringing in own EKG machine or bronchocope from home to use for a patient???Why nurses seem to feel that they need to supply essential equipment to perform their work: make your facility get the needed equipment.... the marble tile repair will just need to wait!

The nurse must be aware of Product Liability when utilizing personal devices for patient care. This is something that NRSKarenRN is trying to point out.Many suits have been brought forth regarding claims about personal injury related to unsafe medical devices. Hospitals have in place, safety inspections for medical devices (per manufacturer guidelines) and must follow Policy/Procedure regarding documentation of the safety inspections. Safety engineering is a critical risk-management tool that helps to ensure hospitals identify potential hazards in the product used on patients and how to eliminate those hazards whenever possible. Attorneys working these cases will have individuals in safety engineering serving as expert witnesses for their cases. Be careful as you make the decision to utilize personal medical equipment for your patients. IMO? This is dangerous practice.

Well, it happened - but not to me. Shift change this morning and the day shift nurse had the section adjacent to mine. She came running up to me and said, "The pt in room 901 is just not right. His color isn't good and he didn't look this way yesterday." She went on to say that she had taken three different BP machines into his room - none of them worked... She finally found one that did - but the pulse ox didn't work... pt dyspneic, pale and decreased LOC. She tried calling respiratory and the response team - and they were on their way up by the time I left. However, she was unable to provide respiratory and the response team with VS. At this point, I do not know what happened with that situation. It's simply frustrating!!!!!!!!!!Thanks,RiverNurse

Are there not manual B/P cuffs available?In an emergency, I don't think I would leave a patient alone while running after 3 different B/P machines. At the very least, obtain the vs that can be gotten, assess the patient's status and call the physician with the information at hand and/or the response team.I agree that the lack of working equipment creates a safety hazard for patients, but I think the nurse could have obtained the most vital information without the use of an automatic B/P machine.You can contact your local health department, the state agency that licenses hospitals Medicare, Medicaid and JCAHO to report unsafe conditions.

Dear Jolie:I would go up the "chain of command" before calling in the licensing agencies. I worked somewhere on a weekend, when 3 B.P. machines went out. No repair people could be reached. So we problem solved with the Supervisor and shared a B.P. machine from another floor. It took longer to get VSs done, but at least we were using machinery that was accurate.The 3 malfunctioning machines were placed with tags on them, right near the purchasing department and were taken for repair on Monday, with 3 functioning machines left on loan.It's only when administration repeatedly refuses to repair necessary equipment or prolongs sending machines out for repairs, that outside agencies need to be contacted.Best wishes....