Medical Digital Scales

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It is the responsibility of a health care team to ensure the overall health and wellness of its patients. It is vitally important that the weight of all patients be closely monitored, even though the trip to the scale tends to be one of the most dreaded events at the doctors office. An unexpected weight loss is not necessarily a sign of a healthy person that has simply been making additional trips to the gym. An unexpected weight gain is not necessarily a sign of someone that has canceled a gym membership and taken up eating snack cakes and banana splits as a hobby.

It is the responsibility of a health care team to ensure the overall health and wellness of its patients. It is vitally important that the weight of all patients be closely monitored, even though the trip to the scale tends to be one of the most dreaded events at the doctors office. An unexpected weight loss is not necessarily a sign of a healthy person that has simply been making additional trips to the gym. An unexpected weight gain is not necessarily a sign of someone that has canceled a gym membership and taken up eating snack cakes and banana splits ...
... as a hobby. Both an unexpected weight loss and an unexpected weight gain can be signs of underlying medical conditions. Though generally 5% to 10% of ones body weight must be gained or lost for a doctor to be concerned, this equates to only a few ounces or pounds in very young children. Therefore, it is vitally important that all medical practices, regardless of if they are small family practices or major medical centers, have accurate, reliable scales.

When comparing scales, consider the needs of your medical practice. For example, a practice that works primary with geriatric patients will want to have a scale equipped to weigh someone in a wheel chair. Not all digital medical scales are capable of this. You will want to take special care to ensure that the wheelchair scale is located near the ground, and has built in ramps, to make it easy for a wheelchair to roll onto and off of it. It may also be good to have a scale with handrails, and sturdy stainless steel load cells.

Alternatively, a practice that works primarily with obese patients may want to have a scale that will calculate the bodys percentage of fat. Though these scales are generally unable to give an exact body fat percentage, they are able to make a fairly accurate reading, thereby allowing the physician to track whether the body fat percentage is increasing or decreasing.

Consider the type of technology that is required for your practice. Though not all medical scales are digital, it is highly advised that digital scales be used exclusively. It is advantageous to use digital scales because it lessens the likelihood of erroneous data being recorded. An added benefit is the ability to connect the scale to the offices computer network. If set up properly, the scale will be able to utilize software that will enable the information from the scales to be directly uploaded into patients files. This can save hours of labor and make the lives of the office staff much happier. This can be part of an overall program of using EMR, or Electron Medical Records.

Ultimately, search for a scale that has a track record of providing accurate, reliable results. These are the most important aspects of any medical scale. After those needs have been met, ensure that the rest of the needs of the practice are met. There is no lack of digital medical scales to choose from. With some time, diligence, and research, you will be able to meet, and possibly exceed, all of the needs of your practice with the perfect scale.