When it comes to protecting yourself and your medical staff against COVID-19, wearing a face mask just isn't enough. Fortunately, there are countless precautionary tools and personal protective equipment (PPE) to supply your medical office with.

To lessen the risk at your practice, and ensure a safer experience for yourself and your patients, considering equipping your medical office with some of these essential items.

Disposable Stethoscopes

Using a single-patient disposable stethoscope minimizes the risk of contact infection and cross-contamination from patient-to-patient. Our disposable stethoscopes come 40-50 per pack and are designed to be disposed of after every use.

Furthermore, they've been manufactured without sacrificing audio quality, as per 3M's promise. With a comfortable design and efficient acoustic performance, you can still obtain an accurate reading without having to do a thorough disinfection of your stethoscope between each patient visit.

Non-Contact Thermometers

It's critical to obtain each patient's temperature prior to treating them or beginning their check-up so as to check for symptoms of COVID-19. Using a non-contact thermometer is the best way to do so. This is to prevent cross-contamination from patient-to-patient by ensuring no bodily fluids are part of the process -- as is often the case with mouth and ear thermometers.

What's more, these thermometers deliver extremely quick and accurate readings, ensuring you're not in the patient's presence for too long before determining whether or not they have a fever.

In addition to the standard, trigger-style non-contact thermometers, doctors can also carry a mini non-contact thermometer in their coats. These super-compact, lightweight, finger-sized thermometers can easily be popped into a pocket and deliver one-second readings.

Eko Dual Digital Stethoscope

The Eko Dual Digital stethoscope allows doctors to maintain distance with patients while auscultating. It can be paired to bluetooth earbuds to allow for wireless examination and therefore greater distance between doctor and patient. Furthermore, results can be streamed to a mobile device.

The stethoscope also works through PPE equipment. So, if you wanted to wrap it in plastic to ensure cross-contamination doesn't occur (and that you're not constantly sanitizing your stethoscope), you could do so and still obtain just as accurate a reading.

Face Shields

A simple face mask just isn't enough when you're in a high-risk profession, coming into contact with patients day-in and day-out. Pair a Zone face shield with your medical-grade mask, as it will act as a barrier between your face and the respiratory droplets of others.

Keep in mind that face shields are single-use only and should be disposed of at the end of each day spent treating patients. These sell in 20-packs so there are enough for doctors and their entire staff, but should be replenished regularly.