house call bag

Introduction

Equipment & supplies:

• stethoscope
• blood pressure cuff with interchangable gauge & cuff (regular adult, obese, pediatric)
• gloves (non-sterile & sterile)
• hemoccult cards, lubricant & developer
• otoscope/ophthalmoscope
• hand-held audioscope (optional)
• glucometer
• peak flow meter
• digital thermometer with disposable probes
• tape measure
• reflex hammer & tuning fork
• wound dressing supplies
  • sterile 4 x 4 inch gauze & tape
• tonail clippers
• portable scale
• disposable sterile scalpel, forceps, scissors
• felt tip marking pen
• needles & syringes for aspiration &/or injection
• blood draw (phlebotomy) supplies
• intravenous starting kit & normal saline
• portable sharps container
• foley catheter & supplies
• nasogastric tube (optional)
• pulse oximeter (optional)
• portable oxygen (optional)
• point of care testing (I-Stat)
• portable ECG
• cerumen curette
• cotton tip applicators
• tongue depressors
• urine dipsticks & specimen cups
• voice amplifier (optional)

Forms & documents

• letter of introduction to house call program including
  • main names & contact numbers of key staff
  • policies for regular & acute visits
  • affiliations with hospitals or other providers, hospices, assisted living or domicilliaries
  • telephone & after hours availability
  • charges for services
• forms & assessments
  • medical, family & social history
  • medication review
  • physical examination
  • nutritional assessments
  • pain/symptom assessment
  • functional assessment, screening
  • cognitive assessments
  • Snellen chart
  • health care proxy, advance directives
  • out of hospital 'do not resuscitate' (DNR)
  • physician's orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST)

More general terms

• device (medical device)