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Hospital buyer: 3 key tips!

16 February 2023
PPE

If you’re a hospital buyer, you likely want to improve your buying strategy! Here are our tips to optimize your hospital purchases and reduce expenses. An optimal buyers strategy is essential for securing the best deals.

1/ Good communication between the hospital buyer and healthcare professionals

The products you buy are used by healthcare professionals. So, don’t hesitate to ask for their opinion! What are their needs? What is their consumption?

Both parties must share their buying criteria and find a consensus: quality, characteristics, standards, budget, quantity, etc.

You can also set up a system to measure their consumption. You will be better able to predict the necessary quantities. Don’t hesitate to consult our blog article to better understand your EPI consumption.

Try to centralize everyone’s needs to buy more intelligently. For example, if you need to buy gloves, try to find a compromise to choose a model that will work for everyone. In short: Buy the same product in large quantities rather than several products in small quantities to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

This is how you can buy products that meet the needs of the hospital’s healthcare professionals and avoid under or over consumption. This communication will help you strengthen your buying strategy and, in the long run, reduce expenses.

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2/ Quality standards for medical devices and PPE (personal protective equipment)

To acquire reliable and quality products, you should pay attention to EN (European Standards) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards.

For medical devices:

  • EN ISO 13485 for the quality of medical devices.
  • EN ISO 14971 for the risk management of medical devices.
  • EN ISO 10993 for the biological evaluation of medical devices.

For masks:

  • ISO 22609 for measuring the mask’s resistance to synthetic blood penetration.
  • EN 14683 for protecting the surroundings from droplets emitted by the mask wearer.

For gloves:

  • EN ISO 374 for protection gloves against chemical products.
  • EN 455 for the absence of holes in gloves.

For protective clothing:

  • EN 14126 for protective clothing against infectious agents.
  • EN 14605 for protective clothing against liquid chemical products.
  • EN 13795 for surgical clothing and fields.

For visors and protective eyewear:

  • EN 166 for individual eye protections.

Consult our blog article to learn more about ISO standards to know before buying your medical device.

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3/ Optimal hospital buyer / supplier relationship

Between the hospital buyer and the supplier, clear communication is necessary. We discuss the quality of the products, their specifications, deadlines, standards, etc. We leave no room for ambiguity.

Having a good buyer / supplier relationship helps to streamline the purchasing process. By having a trusted supplier, with whom you are used to collaborating, you will quickly obtain the products you need, and most importantly, you ensure that you have what you asked for.

It is a collaboration that is worked on over time, we discuss expectations and resolve any potential problems to optimize the purchasing process. Transparency and trust are the foundations of this relationship.

Each party has its own goals and the goal is to find a consensus. The buyer will try to reduce costs to a minimum and the supplier will offer competitive prices while ensuring profitability. Between the two, there are common interests: the quality of the products and customer satisfaction. Satisfying the needs of patients and creating a collaboration where everyone benefits is fundamental at XML MED.

By the way… what if we asked our Commercial Director, Timothy Hollander, how he manages the buyer / supplier relationship within XML MED (Disposable Personal Protective Equipment Supplier for Health Care Facilities)?

DISPOSABLE MEDICAL PPE - TIM

« A direct line between the buyer and the supplier is in my eyes very important today: to have a person on the other side of the line who answers the phone and reflexes with you to the solutions he can bring » 

Your trusted supplier of disposable medical ppe.
Download our PPE catalogue
Masks
Gloves
Gowns
Faceshield
Haedcovers
Jacket
Infrared thermometer
Coverall
Scrubsuits
Antigenic tests

By following these tips, you optimize your procerement strategy and become a successful healthcare buyer. You gain efficiency and reduce costs while not compromising on product quality and individual needs.

Sources for ISO standards: https://www.iso.org/home.html

Sources for EN standards: https://www.boutique.afnor.org/en-gb/  and https://www.nbn.be/shop/en/