Medline is a family-run medical supply company that traces its roots back over 100 years and has had a massive impact on the healthcare sector since then. It supplies the biggest healthcare organizations and nursing homes and helps home care providers and everyday Americans with their healthcare needs.
The Medline range is vast, but in this review we’ll focus on Medline At-Home, which is a consumer-facing division targeted toward seniors and caregivers.
About Medline
Medline’s history dates back to the early 20th century when a garment factory owner was approached by a local hospital and asked to produce uniforms, gowns, and other medical apparel. In later years, following the outbreak of World War II, the owner’s son took over and began producing medical supplies.
This is when Mills Hospital Supply was born. In the 1960s, the company changed hands, became Medline Industries, and began a process that would make it become one of the biggest medical supply companies in North America.
Today, Medline Industries produces more than 350,000 medical products, hires over 14,000 employees, and has a turnover of more than $8 billion.
Medline At-Home Products
The Medline range truly is vast. The easiest way to traverse this seemingly endless line of quality products is to utilize the “Shop by Need” dropdown menu. This allows you to browse products relating to specific needs, whether you have incontinence issues or you’re rehabilitating after an illness or injury:
- Basic Mobility Needs: From canes to wheelchairs to bath supports. It’s important for seniors to maintain their freedom as much as possible, even if they are in the later stages of dementia or have a serious mobility issue.
- Smoking Cessation: Smoking can seriously harm your health and reduce your lifespan, and this is just as true when you’re 60 as it was when you were 20. Just because you’ve survived as a daily smoker for several decades doesn’t mean you’re invulnerable to harm. Medline sells inhalers, patches, and more, and it also has many top tips to help you quit.
- Diabetes: Over 30 million Americans have diabetes and this condition can lead to a host of serious problems, including loss of limbs and eyesight. Medline sells many products geared toward helping patients manage their diabetes. It also has many educational resources.
- Rehabilitation: The Medline ActivICE is a great solution for aches and pains. It’s a fast-acting cooling spray you can apply directly to the problem area. Medline also sells resistance bands and other supplies targeted toward gradual rehabilitation and low-impact, low-risk exercises.
- Continence: Includes underpads, liners, and briefs for adult men and women who struggle with incontinence. It can be an embarrassing issue, but it’s incredibly common, and these supplies can make the issue easy to live with.
- Wound Care: Cuts, grazes, and bruises become more common as you age, and your body also heals slowly and less effectively. Wound care is important, and Medline can help with all aspects of it, including dresses, creams, cleansers, and more.
- Other: In addition to all the above, Medline At-Home provides products tailored towards expecting mothers, as well as disabled individuals and people with vitamin deficiencies.
Ordering Information
Medline is a Medicare and Medicaid participating supplier and all its products can be purchased directly through the Medline At-Home website. At the time of writing, free shipping is available on orders over $50 and you can pay using most credit cards and debit cards. To see if your order could be covered by insurance, call 866-356-4997.
You can return unopened and unused items within 90 days but doing so will incur a restocking fee. This ranges from 5% to 20% depending on when you return the item. You will also be asked to pay for shipping. This should not apply to defective items, however, so if there is anything wrong with your order, contact customer service and explain the situation.
Medline Reviews
With companies as large as Medline, you’re always going to encounter bad reviews and complaints. As is so often the case, companies like this one simply can’t compete with smaller independent retailers when it comes to customer support. They tend to be slower, less responsive, and not as personable, and this angers consumers.
However, most of the bad reviews we encountered seem to have originated in the middle of 2020, when the entire country was struggling with lockdowns, staff shortages, and countless other issues.
Customers have complained about slow deliveries, limited support hours, and other issues. At any other time, these would be valid concerns, but during the chaos of 2020, especially in those early months, it’s completely forgivable as far as we’re concerned.
If you’re concerned about the quality of a product, just use the company’s return policy and/or warranty to your advantage. If you experience an issue, contact them directly and let them know. More often than not, they’ll be happy to help and will do everything they can to remedy the issue.
Learn More
Use the following contact form to send Medline a message, whether you’re complaining about an order or inquiring about a product. Alternatively, email AtHome@Medline.com or dial 1-855-441-8737.