3 Trends in Medical Carts and Workstations for the Healthcare Industry

Standing desks and sit-to-stand workstations have been a staple in the healthcare industry for years. They were introduced into hospitals for point-of-care treatments so hospital staff can have the mobility required to bring treatments to patients where needed in emergency rooms, inpatient wards or treatment rooms, etc. 

These hospital carts with a variety of drawers and bins allow the smooth transfer of medications, medical supplies, and equipment throughout the facility and into storage. Some common medical carts seen in healthcare facilities include mobile respiratory carts for respiratory care, nurse carts for nurses to administer treatments, ultrasound carts for ultrasound therapy, crash carts for emergency treatments, treatment carts carrying medical supplies and medications for wound treatments and injuries in critical care cases, and anesthesia carts for surgery center use. Also a medical computer cart allows simplified access to patients’ medical records, test reports and data entry that supports more accurate hospital records. 

The longer these height-adjustable workstations have been around, the more features they have, and the more to watch out for. Now there are more options available for hospitals. Below we list three trends in medical carts and workstations in 2022 to improve patient experience in healthcare.

Advanced medical carts equipped with medical computers can help streamline a healthcare provider’s daily workflow. They can eliminate the process of writing down notes and relocating to a different area to key the data at a workstation. There is also no risk of misplacing valuable information or forgetting to add new details to patient records at a later time. Having an ability to update information at point of care that can be accessed near real-time by other medical personnel will help improve the treatment communication process. In recent years, hospital leadership has seen the benefits of mobile PC carts and started to implement entire fleets into their facilities rather than one or two. Throughout 2022, this trend will continue as hospital officials look for ways to keep their staff both happy and healthy.

Battery powered computer carts are custom designed, powered hospital computer carts on wheels (COW) and workstations on wheels (WOW), with enough power for an entire shift. When height-adjustable computer carts first appeared on the market, they were mostly manual-lift laptop carts. These workstations needed to be manually cranked to reach the needed height, and had no power source for technology. This method worked great 10 years ago, but since technology has expanded having a direct power source has become a necessity. In 2022 and beyond, the use of powered computer carts will continue to increase to meet the growing need for direct power sources.

Healthcare staff are on the go for their entire shift. Nurses walk an average of 5 miles per shift. With the nature of their routines, they need a medical cart that is easily maneuverable, lightweight and ergonomically designed for them to move effortlessly to any desired location on any floor. Gone are the days of struggling to push a workstation and making frequent trips to the nurse station. 2022 is bringing lighter computer carts on wheels than ever before. Now doctors and nurses can work comfortably with the adjustable height feature that meets their ergonomic needs. The compact frame and configurable accessories make it easy to maneuver.

Medical carts have come far from where they began. The trends medical computer carts will see throughout 2022 and beyond are here to stay, and will only encourage hospitals to employ more carts to offer much-needed help to their clinicians.  Finding a quality medical cart will greatly enhance the workflow of your company. Contact NuboMed to learn more about how our powered carts fit into these trends.