In the fast-paced world of veterinary medicine, the importance of proper storage for medications cannot be overstated. Vet fridges play a crucial role in maintaining the efficacy of medications explicitly used on animals, ensuring the well-being of animals from all backgrounds.
In this guide, we’ll provide a comprehensive overview of veterinary fridges, their features, and the best practices for their use.
Understanding the significance of veterinary fridges
Simply, fridges for veterinary medication are pharmacy fridges used for animal healthcare. These specialised refrigeration units are designed to store temperature-sensitive medications and vaccinations for animals.
Unlike domestic fridges that can drastically fluctuate in temperature, veterinary fridges are designed to maintain an accurate temperature range needed to ensure the efficacy of medications for animals. Without this temperature sensitivity, medicines can become spoiled, potentially putting the lives of animals at risk and costing your practice a lot of money.
Understanding the nuances of these fridges and the critical role they play is essential for maintaining the health and safety of veterinary patients.
Key features of vet fridges
Veterinary fridges offer a range of features that can support animal healthcare clinics with medication storage. Some primary features include:
1. Temperature Control and Monitoring
One of the primary features of a quality veterinary fridge is precise temperature control. Medications to be distributed to animals must be stored between +2oC and +8oC.
CoolMed veterinary fridges are built with iCool temperature thermometers that accurately monitor and stabilise the temperature of stored medications. If they fall outside of this specified temperature range, in-built audible and visual temperature alarms bring attention to this.
All of our fridges are also equipped with 24/7 automatic data logging, providing minimum/maximum temperature recording at all times.
2. Storage capacity and organisation
Further, efficient storage is essential in a veterinary practice. Particularly where different medications can be vital for one animal but harmful to another, minimising cross-contamination and disorganisation is crucial.
We offer both clear-door and solid-door veterinary fridges. If clear visibility of medication is a priority for your practice to ensure proper organisation, a clear-door vet fridge may be best. However, in instances where medication is going to be stored only for one type of animal, for example on a farm, a solid door fridge may be preferred due to a reduced risk of cross-contamination.
Additionally, the interior shelves of our vet fridges are removable meaning you can cater storage to the exact requirements of your practice. We also install LED strip lamps inside the fridge chamber to provide clear illumination to the interior. If you need to administer medicine during the late hours of the night when there is limited visibility, this lighting makes it easier for you to see where your medications are positioned.
Maintenance and care of veterinary fridges
Proper maintenance is key to the longevity and performance of veterinary fridges. Especially where foreign objects such as animal hair could potentially spoil vital medications, proper care and cleanliness are key.
Vet surgeries should carry out regular inspections once a week, cleaning the fridge’s inner chamber, shelves and seals. All shelves in CoolMed medical fridges are plastic-coated and the interior of the cabinet is painted aluminium for easy cleaning.
Get in touch with our team
A well-maintained and appropriately chosen veterinary fridge is essential for any veterinary practice. By incorporating best practices, you can ensure the efficacy of medications crucial to the health of animals under your care.
Stay ahead in veterinary medicine with reliable and compliant vet fridges from CoolMed. To find out how we can help with your vet fridge needs, contact our team at 0161 772 5666, or email us at info@coolmed.co.uk.
