7 Critical Questions to Ask Before You Spend on Hospice Technology or Equipment
Are you deciding between a smart bed and a simple, reliable model? Choosing a remote monitoring vendor because their demo looks impressive? If you manage a 5-50 bed hospice house or you are arranging home hospice care for a parent, the stakes are more than budgetary - they touch dignity, safety, and staff stress levels. This list gives seven focused questions that cut through marketing noise so you can buy items that actually support daily hospice work.
Why seven questions? Because small operations and family homes face the same core problems: limited newlifestyles.com staff time, tight budgets, and high emotional load. You need purchases that do the obvious things well - keep a patient comfortable, make medication safer, free a nurse for hands-on care - not a pile of features that nobody uses. Each question below explains what to inspect, who to ask, and how to test claims with a short checklist you can use during vendor demos or when shopping at durable medical equipment suppliers.
Ready to stop letting marketing hype decide for you? Read these questions, repeat them to vendors, and use the simple trial and validation steps to make purchases that actually reduce work and risk. Which question should you start with first when you are overwhelmed? Begin with the one about core reliability - it's the most common failure point.
Question #1: Does it perform the core tasks reliably under real conditions?
Can your staff use the device on a busy shift when they are tired? Does the equipment still work when power dips or when the internet drops? Many vendors start with flashy features - analytics, dashboards, "predictive" alerts - but the actual utility in hospice is basic: safety, comfort, and ease of documentation.
What to test during a demo:
- Operate the device while simulating distractions - interruptions, urgent calls, dim lighting. Is the interface simple to use with gloves or shaky hands? Check battery backup and manual overrides - can a nurse manually move the bed or stop a lift if the motor fails? Force an offline scenario - does the device keep working offline and queue data for upload later? If cloud services go offline, can care continue?
Ask for a real-world case from a facility similar in size to yours. Can the vendor provide a reference within 60 miles and a staff contact? Request a short on-site trial or loaner whenever possible. For home hospice, ask if the device can be set up by a family member or requires a technician. If the answer is "technician only," budget staff time and costs for each setup and repair visit.
Question #2: What is the total cost of ownership, not just the sticker price?
Have you calculated costs beyond purchase price? Small hospices often discover the recurring costs after the sale: consumables, filters, licensing fees, mandatory software updates, and labor for additional documentation. Those can double or triple the initial outlay over three years.
Line items to include in your calculation:
- Consumables and disposables - oxygen tubing, mattress covers, filters, batteries. How often do they need replacement and how much do they cost? Service contracts - what is the SLA for repairs, and is on-site service included? If a lift or bed is down, what is the expected downtime and how does it affect staffing? Training - how many hours of staff training are included? Is retraining included with staff turnover? Software licensing - is the system SaaS with monthly fees? Are upgrades included or charged separately?
Example: a pressure-relief mattress might cost $1,200 up front, with a $200 yearly cost for covers and replacement parts. An "integrated telehealth cart" might be $3,000 up front but carry $100 monthly cloud fees and additional audio/video accessory replacements. Which is cheaper over three years? Which one frees up an RN hour per week in documentation time and how do you value that saved time?
Question #3: How easy is it for staff and families to learn and use the product?
Who will actually press the buttons when someone needs help? Delayed or incorrect use of equipment increases risk. A device that looks modern but needs a lengthy manual will be underused. For family caregivers, the learning curve must be even shallower.
Evaluate these usability aspects:
- Time-to-competence - how many minutes or hours before a typical nurse can operate the equipment safely without referring to a manual? Training format - is teaching live, video-based, or paper-only? Are competency checklists provided for shift sign-offs? Accessibility - are controls readable in low light, labeled clearly, and reachable for people of various heights and abilities? Language and support - is training available in your staff's primary languages? Is customer support pro-active or reactive?
Ask for a simple scenario test during demos: have a non-technical staff member or family member perform a routine task under observation. Time them. Would this fit into a 15-minute orientation? If not, the device may cost you more in training hours than it saves in efficiency. Also ask whether the interface can be locked down so families only access safe core features, preventing accidental settings changes during stressful moments.
Question #4: Does it meet clinical and regulatory needs for hospice care?
Will the device or software fit the clinical workflows and documentation requirements you must follow? Hospice documentation and controlled medication handling have specific standards for timeliness, signatures, and audit trails. A product that produces pretty reports but does not capture required fields or provide secure audit logs may create risk.
Key compliance checks:
- Documentation compatibility - can clinical notes export in the format your records system needs? Is there an audit trail for medication administration? Privacy and security - is the vendor HIPAA compliant? Where is data stored, and who has access? Controlled substances - does any medication management tool meet your state pharmacy rules for inventory and disposal? Infection control - are materials easy to clean with hospital-grade disinfectants? Can mattress covers and lift slings be laundered according to facility protocols?
If you run a small facility, ask for a mock audit or compliance checklist from the vendor. Can the vendor show how their product has passed inspections in other hospices? For home situations, ask if the device creates caregiver-friendly records that you can share with a hospice nurse without violating privacy rules.
Question #5: What support, maintenance, and spare parts are realistic for your setting?
When a piece of equipment fails, how quickly will it be fixed? For small hospices a 48-hour downtime for a lift or oxygen concentrator can force emergency transfers. For families at home, a broken pump or bed can create a crisis overnight.
Ask vendors these direct questions:
- What is the response time for service calls, and is on-site service included in the contract? Where are spare parts stocked - locally or out of state? What typical delivery time should you expect? Are there simple, local technicians who can perform basic repairs, or does the vendor require only authorized technicians? Does the product have a manual override or fallback so care can continue when electronics fail?
Negotiate service-level specifics before purchase: a written SLA with promised response times, stocked spare parts, phone-based troubleshooting, and an escalation path. For small purchases like Hoyer lifts, keep a list of two local repair companies and order a small stock of common fast-moving parts - straps, batteries, fuse kits - to reduce downtime. For home hospice, include a contingency plan with the vendor on emergency replacements or short-term rentals.
Your 30-Day Action Plan: What to do now to avoid marketing traps and make safe, practical purchases
Day 1-3: List your top three needs. Ask: what problem are we solving? Comfort? Medication safety? Staff time? Rank purchases by risk - items that prevent injury or hospital transfer should top your list.
Day 4-10: Use the five questions above as a vendor script. Schedule demos and insist on real-world testing: a staff member or family caregiver should operate the device. Get references from facilities of similar size and ask about service history and total cost over three years.
Day 11-20: Run cost scenarios. Include consumables, training time, software fees, and expected maintenance. Compare two vendors on total cost of ownership, and include an estimate of staff hours saved or spent. Ask vendors to put training and a short onsite trial in writing.
Day 21-27: Negotiate service terms. Get SLAs in the contract with response times, spare part availability, and clear data access rules. For software, insist on data export in a standard format so you are not locked into a single vendor.
Day 28-30: Finalize purchase with contingency planning. Create a one-page cheat sheet for staff and families that covers basic operation, what to do when it fails, and the vendor support number. Schedule a 30-day follow-up review to make sure the device performs as expected and to confirm training retention.
Summary: Small hospices and families can cut through hype by focusing on five essentials: core reliability, total cost, ease of use, compliance, and practical support. Ask concrete questions, insist on short trials, and write service expectations into contracts. What will you do next week to protect patients and reduce stress for staff and family caregivers?