February 2012

As American Heart month winds down we'd like to share with the readers some heart disease prevention tips to assist in your heart healthy lifestyle. Six years ago only 66% of adults who visited their doctor had their blood pressure checked. While that number has increased, more than one in five people with high blood pressure still don't know that they have hypertension.

Tip 1. Have your blood pressure checked, regularly. It's not exactly new heart health news, but regular blood pressure readings from a health professional are the most important way to find out if you have hypertension or pre-hypertension.

For the next four heart health tips for preventing cardiovascular disease, click ahead.

The stethoscope is one of the most recognizable pieces of medical equipment. It's used to listen to the heart, lungs, and other body parts. It was invented almost 200 years ago. In the early days of medical stethoscopes , the medical devices were monaural and not very versatile, as shown in the picture to the right. Doctors had to pay close attention and listen carefully to sounds from the human body. These very early stethoscopes were not the best stethoscopes, but they trained doctors to be very careful listeners.

Today with the prevalence of very sophisticated echocardiogram technology, stethoscope monitoring is almost a lost art.

According to a recent article from the Baltimore Sun, medical schools including Johns Hopkins are bringing back the lost art of cardiac auscultation to sharpen their students' diagnostic skills and cut costs from excessive high-tech imaging.

"Most people who do and teach this well grew up in an era pre-[echocardiogram], when they had to rely on it for making a diagnosis," said Dr. W. Reid Thompson, pediatric cardiologist at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. "It's still a very quick, effective and powerful screening tool for many heart defects in children and a great way to follow patients with known defects to detect changes."

In a digital world of iPhone pedometers, and expensive MRI body scans, the medical stethoscope is still here. And it's still relevant and still an important piece of medical equipment for medical students and for practicing medical professionals.

QuickMedical's ADC Adscope 602 Cardiology Stethoscope offers a stainless steel combination chest piece with an extra deep bell for unsurpassed low frequency response. The Adscope 602 also features an ultra-sensitive diaphragm for greater amplification and crisp high frequency transmission. The 602 utilizes a non-chill bell and diaphragm retaining rim for patient comfort. For the medical professional, the stethoscope remains a vital medical device. Order today until April 15th with the code SPRING1506 and get a 15% discount on this medical stethoscope.

QuickMedical and Germstar invite you to try answering these questions about hand hygiene. Hand hygiene isn't always as simple as just regular hand washing. Take this hand hygiene quiz, packed with hand hygiene and hand sanitizer facts and find out if you're a Hand Hygiene Hero or just a Germy Jerk.

1. After taking a patient's blood pressure, the doctor or nurse should wash their hands. True or False.

2. Wet or damp hands spread 1000 times more germs than dry hands. True or False.

3. In the 1960's rinsing hands with antiseptic was believed to be less effective than hand washing. True or False.

4. According to CDC the single most important thing we can do to keep from getting sick and spreading illness to others is to clean our hands. True or False.

5. Only 75% of female and 60% of male middle and high school students washed their hands after using the bathroom. True orFalse.

6. Hand sanitizer is not as effective in germ control as hand washing. True or False.

Do you know the answer to these questions? You've got a 50/50 shot! Don't cheat. Answer honestly and then click read more for the surprising answers on hand hygiene, hand washing, and hand sanitizers.

In 1983 Sharon Johnson wrote in the The New York Times, "The computer, which has revolutionized industries ranging from banking to transportation, is broadening its impact on a newer target: the American hospital. Able to handle pyramids of paperwork and to complete forms with lightning speed, computers are opening a variety of careers in hospital administration. Paired with other equipment that permits observation of minute parts of human organs, they have also given birth to a host of new titles and responsibilities for laboratory technicians. And as they streamline clerical and technical abilities they help hospitals contain increasing costs."

Almost thirty years later, Johnson's words are still valid. Computer diagnostic equipment in hospitals, including PC based EKG/ECG such as the CareCenter MD Diagnostic Workstation for ECG/EKG are widely used today and very important for care and diagnosis.

The CareCenter MD Diagnostic Workstation is designed as one single platform for ECG, with scalability for the option to add new modalities as they become available. The MD Diagnostic Workstation for ECG / EKG features a user friendly interface with simple, one button navigation and the online program allows for live consultations to be performed remotely. The Cardiac Science Diagnostic Workstation conveniently features wireless data acquisition between patient and workstation.

Cardiac Science is currently making it even easier to add computers to your clinical environment. Until March 31st 2012, if you purchase a CareCenter MD Diagnostic Workstation you can use this rebate form to receive either a $300 rebate on the purchase or a free laptop. This promotion will only last while supplies are available, so you must act promptly. Please note, the laptop option will take 3-4 weeks. The CareCenter MD Workstation in conjunction with a lightweight laptop will streamline your facility's work load with its advanced connectivity feature, providing access to complete test data across the network.

February is American Heart Month. QuickMedical has products for cardiologists including stethoscopes, heart rate monitors and consumer products for heart health such as pedometers.

It's important to keep heart health in mind. Heart disease is a leading cause of death. It's also often preventable and treatable.

Knowing the warning signs for a heart attack for example, can save lives. The American Heart Association and actress Elizabeth Banks created this short film about a mom who takes care of everyone but herself to show the warning signs of a heart attack in an entertaining and humorous way.

Bed sores are a common but dangerous problem for people with limited mobility. Anyone confined for a long time to a wheelchair or bed should be on guard for bed sores. Bed sores are also known as pressure ulcers. They form because of pressure and friction being put on the skin for extended periods. Regularly checking for bed sores by inspecting the skin of at-risk patients should always be a routine part of patient care. Once a bed sore starts it's extremely hard to treat. The best treatment for bed sores is prevention.

A Stage one bed sore has the following characteristics. The skin is intact. The skin appears red on people with lighter skin color, and the skin doesn't briefly lighten when touched. On people with darker skin, there may be no change in the color of the skin, and the skin doesn't lighten when touched. The skin may appear ashen, bluish or purple. The site may be painful, firm, soft or warmer or cooler compared with the surrounding skin.

Doctors and nurses consistently agree that reaching a Stage one bed sore is unacceptable. Stage one is quickly followed by Stage two, which includes a shallow, basin-like wound, lost dermis, and potentially a fluid filled blister. To avoid the stages of bed sore formation, health professionals recommend medical supplies which will reduce their occurrence. A Birchwood 94211 LiquiCell Shear Reducing Mattress Overlay incorporates LiquiCell, a medical technology that assists in the prevention of stretched or torn skin tissue resulting in optimized blood flow. The ultra-thin LiquiCell cells contain a liquid that is in constant motion allowing the body to glide or float over the mattress. Eliminating pressure eliminates pressure ulcers. Eliminating pressure ulcers eliminates the wounds advancing to later stages.

Click ahead to learn more about the development of bed sores in Stage three and stage four and why using Birchwood LiquiCell technology is so important.

QuickMedical serves the federal government as Veteran's Sales LLC DBA QuickMedical GS-- a service disabled veteran owned small business. QuickMedical GS sells medical equipment and supplies to a variety of agencies of the federal governement. QuickMedical GS specializes in medical devices, exam tables, X-Ray equipment, invitro testing supplies, medical cabinets, temporal thermometers, medical diagnostic instruments, and medical disposables.

For special government pricing, customers can call QuickMedical during regular office hours. Government customers also have the ability to use the GSA Advantage website. Orders can be placed on GSA Advantage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If it's your first time using GSA Advantage for buying medical equipment and supplies, watch this excellent Q-Tube video below which gives detailed instructions from QuickMedical's Government Sales Specialist on how to use GSA Advantage.

The Super Bowl is a de facto American holiday. Taking place after the Thanksgiving/Christmas season, Super Bowl Sunday is the second largest day for food consumption, just behind Thanksgiving, but ahead of Christmas and the Fourth of July. The Super Bowl is frequently the most watched television program of the year. The NFL claims that the use of the phrase "Super Bowl" implies an NFL affiliation, and on this basis the league asserts broad rights to restrict how the game may be shown publicly. For example, the league says Super Bowl showings are prohibited in churches or events that promote a message. Venues that don't regularly show sporting events aren't allowed to show the Super Bowl on any television screen larger than 55 inches. So we'll take a small risk, claim fair use, and tell you how to stay healthy on the day of the big game. Here's how to make sure your Super Bowl stays healthy.

In January an epic snowstorm hit the area where QuickMedical is located. Thousands of people were without power for days. Even QuickMedical lost power, briefly. But QuickMedical soldiered on and continued shipping medical equipment and supplies to the world. Filisi, as part of the warehouse team, made it to work every day during the storm, ensuring that all the orders shipped.

This month's employee of the month is Filisi. The staff and management would like to thank Filisi for all his efforts. His commitment to work through the snowstorm is commendable, but also his day-to-day duties are an important part of everything we do at QuickMedical. He's also great to work with! If you're a customer and want to share a story about Filisi, or a fellow employee, click ahead and leave a comment below.