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Setting up a practice: basic equipment and supplies checklist

5 min reading time

To set up a new medical practice, you need basic equipment from seven areas: examination, diagnostics, hygiene, consumables, emergency equipment, practice furniture and practice supplies reimbursed by health insurers. Plan devices and furniture as one-off purchases, and consumables as ongoing demand with fixed reorder cycles. The following checklist helps you make sure nothing important is missing from your practice supplies.

Planning your initial equipment: the right order

Before your first purchase, three questions are worth answering: Which specialty and which range of services do you offer? How many treatment rooms are you setting up? And which requirements follow from your hygiene plan and from the German Medical Devices Operator Ordinance (Medizinprodukte-Betreiberverordnung)? The answers show which equipment each room needs and which materials you keep centrally in storage.

Separate capital goods from consumables. You buy couches, instrument tables and diagnostic devices once and schedule maintenance and safety inspections according to the manufacturer's instructions. Gloves, syringes, swabs and disinfectants, on the other hand, are used up continuously. Here, reliable reordering matters more than the one-off purchase.

Examination and diagnostics

The centrepiece of every treatment room is a stable examination couch, complemented by an instrument table for materials and instruments. Look for wipeable surfaces that are resistant to disinfectants, the permitted load and, for couches, height adjustment. For the couch surface, plan medical crepe paper rolls in the matching roll width.

Depending on your specialty, basic diagnostic equipment includes:

Stethoscopes for every physician workstation
Blood pressure monitors, manual or digital, with cuffs in several sizes
Clinical thermometers with matching probe covers
Otoscopes with disposable ear specula and spare bulbs
Examination lights for the treatment rooms

For battery or rechargeable devices, check whether spare parts and accessories will remain available over time. This saves you searching later for matching bulbs, batteries or cuffs.

Hygiene and protective equipment

Hygiene products belong in every room and should never run short. The basis is hand disinfectant with wall dispensers, surface disinfection for couches and work surfaces, and instrument disinfection if you reprocess instruments yourself. You will find an overview in our Hygiene category. The VAH list (German Association for Applied Hygiene) provides orientation for your selection, while your hygiene plan determines which products you use.

Add disposable gloves in all required sizes and surgical face masks from the Gloves and Masks category. Our comparison of medical gloves explains which glove materials suit which purpose. Do not forget sharps containers in every room where injections are given or blood is drawn.

Consumables and practice supplies (Sprechstundenbedarf)

For consumables, it pays to keep a list with a minimum stock level per item that you define yourself. Typical items are syringes in common volumes, needles, swabs and compresses, dressing material, as well as plasters and fixation material. Decide who checks stock levels and when to reorder.

In Germany, part of this material is obtained as Sprechstundenbedarf, i.e. practice supplies charged to the statutory health insurers. Which items qualify is set out in the Sprechstundenbedarf agreement of your regional Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Vereinigung). You can read more on our Sprechstundenbedarf page. Practices in Austria and Switzerland are subject to their own billing rules.

On ShopMed24, each supplier sets its own packaging unit (VE) and price. Therefore always compare offers on the basis of the packaging unit, meaning the number of pieces per pack.

Emergency equipment and practice furniture

Every practice needs emergency equipment, the scope of which depends on the specialty and the patient population. Common items are an emergency case, a bag valve mask with masks in different sizes and, if the practice management decides so, an AED. Our AED buying guide describes what to look for when buying a defibrillator. Also appoint a person who regularly checks expiry dates and completeness.

When it comes to practice furniture, many people think of the reception desk first. Just as important are waiting room chairs, cabinets for the storeroom and work chairs for treatment rooms and administration. For upholstery, choose wipeable covers.

Checklist: basic equipment for a new practice

Area	Examples	Purchasing note
Examination	Examination couch, instrument table, crepe paper	Check load capacity, roll width to match the couch
Diagnostics	Stethoscope, blood pressure monitor, thermometer, otoscope	Order accessories and spare parts as well
Hygiene	Hand, surface and instrument disinfection, dispensers	Select according to hygiene plan and VAH list
Protective equipment	Disposable gloves, surgical face masks	Keep all required sizes in stock
Consumables	Syringes, needles, compresses, dressing material	Define your own minimum stock per item
Emergency	Emergency case, bag valve mask, AED if applicable	Appoint a person responsible for checks
Furniture	Waiting room chairs, cabinets, work chairs	Choose wipeable surfaces
Disposal	Sharps containers	Provide one in every treatment room

Related categories:

Frequently asked questions

What is part of the basic equipment of a medical practice?

Basic equipment includes an examination couch, an instrument table, diagnostic devices such as a stethoscope and blood pressure monitor, hygiene products, consumables, emergency equipment and practice furniture. The exact scope depends on your specialty.

How do I order Sprechstundenbedarf?

You order Sprechstundenbedarf like other practice supplies, but billing follows the Sprechstundenbedarf agreement of your Kassenärztliche Vereinigung. You will find more information on our Sprechstundenbedarf page.

What should I look for when comparing consumables?

Always compare on the basis of the packaging unit, meaning the number of pieces per pack. Each supplier on ShopMed24 sets its own packaging unit and price.

Do I need a customer account to order?

A buyer account is recommended for practices and institutions. It lets you manage orders and delivery addresses centrally in one place.

What can I do if a product is not in the range?

Send us a product request. We will then ask our suppliers whether the item can be offered.

Put together your initial equipment step by step, for example starting with the examination couches. A buyer account helps you keep track of all orders. If an item is missing, send us a product request.