Reasons Why Accurate Weighing Is Important In Medicine

Every company must prioritize quality control, and for many companies, accurate weighing measurements are quickly required.

This is particularly true in medical applications where chemicals must be monitored with exceptional accuracy on a daily basis to not only achieve the intended outcomes but also to safeguard the end user’s health.

It takes specialized tools, often referred to as “balances,” to work with materials in such small quantities and with such light weights.

To fulfill your duty of care in a medical setting, accurate weighing scales are crucial. An incorrect reading could result in the patient receiving the wrong medication or treatment, which could have serious or fatal repercussions.

Read more about the important reasons for accurate weighing below.

A Matter of Life and Death

Getting precise, regular weight readings for hospital patients could be a matter of life or death, yet an inaccurate gas pump or grocery scale isn’t exactly a life-or-death situation. Knowing why a patient might be weighed—to determine the dose for medication, anesthesia, or even radiation—makes you aware of how crucial it is to get the weight right. The National Medical Weighing Project found that one-third of scales are inaccurate. Some of these errors could be minor and have no impact on patient care, like in the case of adult obesity monitoring. However, pinpoint accuracy is essential when weighing a premature newborn to determine drug dosage. In order to maintain the best degree of patient safety possible, purchasing medical scales that are reliable, tough, and perfect for patient weight control is required. Unfortunately, defective medical equipment can be fatal, and the report singled out “inaccurate weighing scales” as one of the items.

Utilizing Medical Scales Enables You to Fulfill Your Responsibility for Care

The term “duty of care” refers to the obligations that medical professionals may have when it is “reasonably foreseeable” that a patient will suffer injury as a result of staff members’ activities, such as incorrect weighing.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency issued a warning in 2008 after discovering that several patients had received the incorrect dosage of medication as a result of improperly calibrated weighing scales.

It was claimed that in one instance, NHS officials weighed a four-year-old cancer patient on faulty bathroom scales to determine her radiation dosage. Although she caught the mistake in time, others might not be so lucky.

LACORS Recommendations

According to one-third of national weighing equipment, the following is advised:

• Any inaccurate equipment should be taken out of service while it is being repaired or replaced.
• Additionally, all scales used for medical applications should have the accuracy of at least Class III.

Here are some other report recommendations:

Medical weighing instruments have been regulated since 2003. Any weighing equipment used for medical purposes sold after January 1, 2003, must be of an approved type and be confirmed before being put into service or after repair.

Subject to More Testing

Every scale that is used in the medical profession to weigh patients for the purposes of monitoring, diagnosing, and receiving medical treatment must be approved by a physician.

An EU-notified authority will subject certified scales to rigorous testing in order to ensure that they meet the standards necessary to become Class III. The level of testing necessary guarantees that weight readings are accurate; two separate Class III Approved scales should produce the same result. Therefore, Class III is utilized to safeguard the patient (or the user).

When calculating prescriptions or keeping track of vital signs, Class III scales are strongly advised, and certain scale accuracy must be utilized for certain medical duties.

The Patients Are Assured

By using an accurate weighing scale, the patient is reassured that they are in excellent hands for the care they are receiving. A patient may be aware of their weight, for instance, as a result of a recent visit to their doctor, during which they may have been automatically weighed.

It is crucial to know that the weight reading you provide a patient is accurate and that you can do it with total confidence.

Each weighing purpose requires the use of scales with a specified graduation, so it is necessary to take this into account when ordering your scales.

It is also recommended that scales undergo an annual calibration check to ensure their accuracy.

Finally, you should frequently clean your medical scales. The ideal time to clean them is before it is obvious that they need to be cleaned. Check to make sure it is unplugged and powered off before you start cleaning. Remember that dampness can cause major damage to your scale, so you should only clean it with a towel that has been lightly moistened.