Seeking Recommendations for Temperature-Controlled Medication Storage in Ambulance Services

[Kingkent]

Hey everyone,

I hope you're all doing well. I work in an ambulance service and we are currently exploring better ways to store our medications at appropriate temperatures, both in hot and cold weather conditions. I was wondering if any of you have experience or suggestions regarding temperature-controlled storage solutions for medications, and if you could recommend any specific products, it would be greatly appreciated.

When it comes to extreme temperatures, such as during scorching summers or freezing winters, it becomes crucial to ensure that medications are stored within a safe temperature range to maintain their effectiveness. We want to avoid any potential risks associated with temperature fluctuations.

If you have come across temperature-controlled cabinets or storage units that are suitable for ambulance use, I would love to hear your recommendations. It would be great if you could also share any relevant information or pictures of the suggested products.

Thank you all in advance for your input and suggestions. Your expertise and insights would be immensely valuable in helping us find the best solution for our medication storage needs.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,
Kent Nyholt
OUS ambulance service, Norway

 

[Summit]

Hallo!

Do you leave your ambulances idling and/or have them plugged into power when off?

Usually you can either have a cabinet that contains medication pouches (or the whole bag) that is temperature controlled by a peltier (thermoelectric) unit wired into the main bus.

I've also seen heater elements wired into a bag and you plug the bag in.

I've run into problems where vehicles are stored outside and not plugged in, how do you keep temp control without massive expenses from a separate power system with multiple batteries. (I haven't solved it yet)

 

[Tigger]

The best we have come up with has been RV style fridges (we use Norcold). They are the not the toughest, seems like a less than five year life span. They take up a bit of room but have the benefit of having cold bottles of water kept aboard. The truck must absolutely be plugged in or running though, these wreck batteries otherwise.

We have one truck with a small, locking, refrigerated vault, however the company has gone under. It was ideal.

If you need a budget and small scale solution, we have also used portable insulin coolers, these do ok for small amounts of meds that need to be kept cool. I work at a place that does one for diltiazem and an other for paralytics. Jam a meat thermometer in there and change the ice pack every twelve hours and you’re good. https://www.diabeticcorner.com/medi...9PYZKEAo3TWpd9CF9ZhJQ0Mge9-fViXRoCthUQAvD_BwE

We experimented with the battery powered cooled versions of these and they did not last long.

It gets cold here, but not cold enough for a running truck to keep the meds from freezing, so I have no ideas for that. If we have a truck parked outside in the winter we bring the freezable things in.