Obtain all the necessary medical catheters used in your facility

Catheters have a very wide range of uses. They are not just used in incontinent patients, but are used in a variety of medical procedures as well, including unclogging blocked arteries, maneuvering a tiny camera into the heart or administering a spinal nerve block to mothers going into active labor.

I recommend: View a large selection of intermittent catheters at 180 Medical. Balt Extrusion offers a range of catheters for angioplasty and intracranial procedures.

Get medical syringes for a wide range of medical procedures

Disposable syringes are required in many areas to prevent disease transmission. Syringes are used for both injecting and withdrawing. From giving medications to taking blood samples, you'll need to stock a variety of syringes for everyday use.

I recommend: Buy syringes prefilled with medication from Emergency Medical Products as this can save you some trouble in a situation where time is of the essence; these syringes are used widely in emergency rooms and by medics in ambulances. Discard all used syringes and needles in a biohazard sharps container from the Medical Supply Group.

Select different sizes of medical needles to accommodate any patient with any need

Different needles are used for different things. From small gauge butterfly needles and hypodermic needles to larger needles used for biopsies and aspirations, you'll need a rather large supply of needles to select from, depending on what type of facility you run.

I recommend: Choose from a variety of gauges and lengths of hypodermic needles from Atlantic Medical Supply. Find catheter introduction needles at Epimed International.