Pulse Oximeter

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2009

What about contacting a respiratory supply company?

Editorial Team / Admin · Jan 10, 2009

Here's another thread on this subject: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/handheld-pulse-oximeter-346293.html

RiverNurse · Jan 12, 2009

Hi all,

I found one - thanks to this site.

Take care,

RiverNurse

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jan 12, 2009

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.

RiverNurse · Jan 12, 2009

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

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2009

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

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jan 12, 2009

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!

lamazeteacher · Jan 12, 2009

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!

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Uh, yes I have seen MDs who own their EKG machines, which are quite compact and can be carried around like a laptop. They charge for the readings from them, too. I wonder how often they're calibrated for accuracy...... Since MDs may have 2-3 offices, their budget could require carrying them around with them......

Bronchoscopes are an invasive piece of equipment, which can be personally owned by physicians (what MD doesn't have their favorite pieces of machinery?). I recall surgeons bringing their personal instruments to the OR for flash sterilization before operating......Since theft can be a problem in hospitals, and the cost of those things is amazing, according to what kind of camera, how high the magnification, etc. I'm sure if anything's portable, it goes home with its owner if it cost a lot.

I'm going to have endoscopy next week, and think that I'd be happier with my physician if he brings his own equipment with which he is very familiar (read the manual), and it wasn't purchased for its low price by equipment management budgeteers. That kind of MD puts his money into his pride of quality work. I like that!

Historically nurses bought their own sphygmomenometers and stethascopes so they wouldn't have to stand in line to use the hospitals' ones (which could be pinched by patients.....).

In Home Health the digital ones didn't prove trustworthy, so I always had my own, which I knew I could trust to reveal accurate readings (comparing values taken with other nurses at staff meetings).

The glucometers Home Health agencies entrust to nurses for specific patients for one time home use, have a high possibility of malfunction due to the wildly varying readings they may take (and lack of time taken to cleanse adequately after each use. I've not seen great quality control for them. I'd rather use the patient's own, which has a strip of previously obtained values for them, individually.

My present Internist has his "nurse" take oximeter readings on all patients at each visit, while being weighed. I always involuntarily hold my breath when on a scale, so my readings are always around 95%, which I've been told by the "nurse" and my MD, is a "normal" reading. So how come orders on Home Care patients given by their physicians are to adjust their oxygen concentration per nc upward, or start it if the Oximeter reads under 97.5?

Editorial Team / Admin · Jan 12, 2009

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.

RiverNurse · Jan 13, 2009

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

Jolie, BSN · Jan 13, 2009

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.