I say yes.
You can order medical supplies online from many online retailers, and even wholesalers. That has been in place for many years.
Online retailers, drop shippers, wholesalers, and brick-and-mortar retail chains have all created extensive online shopping experiences for people to research features and benefits, specifications, and recommendations for home medical supplies, diagnostic medical supplies, and durable medical equipment.
It can all be shipped to your home or to your medical practice if you are a practice manager buying for your clinic.
YouTube and Medical Supplies
YouTube is helping medical supply and equipment manufacturers and distributors take the shopping experience to the next level. And a better one for the consumer.
Online research can be difficult. Reading about something can help, but it can also mislead someone, even unintentionally, due to the limitations of the written word and a static photo.
But video opens up a new dimension in visual aid for the shopper. Watching how a medical supply or a piece of equipment is used can help the consumer make a more informed decision. By seeing how easy (or not) it is to use something, it can help with the decision-making process. It can help answer the question, "Is this right for me?"
Another way YouTube, or any video media can help the consumer is by showing the height, weight, width dimensions in perspective to the person, the human form, demonstrating the product's use.
This puts it into a perspective that can help the visual learner better understand how the product would fit their needs, and their size.
Medical Suppliers Using YouTube
I've written about a few medical suppliers who have embraced the power of YouTube. The benefits they've brought to prospective customers have included demonstrating how to use medical equipment like powered motorized wheelchairs, to dismantling transportable motorized scooters, to teaching customers how to use their website.
Medical Supermarket and Their YouTube Advantage
Medical Supermarket, a medical supplier based in the United Kingdom that serves general practice physicians, has created a YouTube Channel of videos that walk the practice manager through the process of introducing their company, signing up and creating an account with them, placing an order, maximizing the value of your account, and understanding delivery charges.
It seems elementary to spend time and production cost on walking people through the process of placing an order, but it's surprising how many times one arrives at an online retailer or wholesaler and ends up leaving without placing an order because the process is too mysterious.
Medical Supermarket understands that. Make the order process easy for the customer, show them how to make it all happen through an engaging video tutorial, and you've immediately placed yourself ahead of your competitors.
How to Install a Wheelchair Ramp for Your Home
A company called Living Free Home gives us a different example of how to use YouTube for their business. This company sells wheelchair ramps that can be installed at people's homes. To help consumers understand not only how the product can look at their home, but also to see how it is installed and what is involved in that process, the company has posted a video of their 10 step process.
When the consumer can see how it's done, simply by watching a brief video demonstration, it reduces the risk and anxiety involved in most buying decisions.
Youtube Video Demonstrations of Powered Wheelchairs
Marc's Mobility, of Lakeland, Florida, has posted an estimated 20 different brief videos that serve a few purposes. First, the videos feature Marc himself, so it's an excellent way for the viewer to get to know the person they are potentially buying from.
Second, Marc demonstrates how to use the wheelchairs, the motorized wheelchairs, powered scooters, and the lifts and other accessories. He breaks them down right before your eyes so that you can see in real-time how long it takes to disassemble a chair or scooter for travel and transport.
His videos also show how fast and how nimble each chair or scooter is that he demonstrates. These are important variables for anyone shopping for a mobility aid. Video delivers in a way text and photos simply cannot.
For more information about purchasing home medical supplies, try these resources:
3 Common Self-Care Medical Supplies
A Full-Range of Home Medical Supplies for Diabetics
12 Respiratory Aids for Home Health Care
6 Supplies to Aid Daily Living
Where Can I Shop for Home Medical Supplies?
8 Uses for Portable Oxygen Therapy
Rollator or Walker?
Adaptive Strollers for Children with Special Needs
Diabetes Home Health Care - Glucose Meters