Medical storage cabinets are what you specify when contents have to be enclosed, kept out of sight, or restricted to certain staff. Labs USA specifies and supplies roll-top supply cabinets, catheter cabinets, scope storage cabinets, tray and basket cabinets, glass-door and solid-door units, steel bin cabinets and secured enclosures — and works out which locations in a room genuinely need a door. We are a supplier and project partner, not the manufacturer.

Run of closed storage cabinets with blue doors and pull-out supply baskets in a hospital corridor
9cabinet configurations covered here
Freeroom review and layout
Sharedtrays and baskets with carts and wall units
Salt Lake Citydelivery and install coordination

When a cabinet is the right answer

Doors cost money and slow picking down. They are worth it for exactly three reasons: contents that should not be on show, contents that need to be restricted, and contents that need protecting from the room.

Everything else is usually better on open shelving or in a cart, because open storage is faster to pick, faster to restock and much easier to audit at a glance. We see two failure patterns: whole store rooms fitted with doors that are never closed, and high-value items sitting on an open rack in a corridor that anyone can walk through. Both are layout decisions rather than product decisions.

So the first question is which locations need a door — not which cabinet to buy. Once that is settled, the interior does the real work. A cabinet is only as good as what is inside it: adjustable shelves and dividers for boxed stock, hook managers for anything pre-packed and hanging, modular trays and baskets where the contents move between a cabinet, a cart and a wall unit.

A roll-top tambour door is the format we specify most often in clinical spaces, because it needs no swing space in front of the cabinet. In a corridor or a small supply room, that is frequently the only door that fits at all.

Cabinet configurations we specify

These are manufacturer-published configurations. Interior fit-out is the variable: the same cabinet body takes shelves, dividers, hook managers, trays or baskets in different combinations, so one cabinet standard can serve several departments.

Storage cabinet with five adjustable shelves subdivided by upright dividersShelved Supply CabinetsAdjustable shelves subdivided by upright dividers, published with a roll-top tambour door — the general-purpose enclosed store for boxed stock.
Storage cabinet with a roll-top tambour door and a row of hook managers for pre-packed cathetersCatheter Storage CabinetsRows of hook managers keep pre-packed catheters and wires hanging straight, separated and easy to count.
Storage cabinet with hook managers above an angled divided bin for boxed cathetersBox Catheter CabinetsHook managers over an angled divided bin, published for sites that hold both hanging and boxed stock in one cabinet.
Storage cabinet combining adjustable shelves on one side with hook managers on the otherCombination CabinetsAdjustable shelves on one side and hook managers on the other, for departments that need both in one footprint.
Storage cabinet filled with two columns of modular trays and wire basketsTray & Basket CabinetsModular trays and wire baskets in the same format used by our carts and wall units, so stock moves without repacking. See medical carts.
Tall storage cabinet with a roll-top tambour door holding hanging endoscopes above a drip panScope Storage CabinetsHanging storage with foam scope cues on adjustable arms, cushioned cord managers, a removable sloped drip pan and a roll-top door.
Mobile glass-door storage cabinet with adjustable shelves and trays behind the doorsGlass-Door & Mobile CabinetsDoors that keep contents visible while closed, including mobile bodies where the cabinet has to move between rooms.
Shelving unit closed in with wire enclosure panels, holding folded linenSecured EnclosuresWire enclosure panels and panel doors that turn a standard shelving unit into a closed, lockable one. See healthcare shelving.
Tall cabinet frame filled with rows of clear tip-out binsTip-Out Bin CabinetsClear cups that tip open to 45 degrees and lift out for refilling, in stackable or wall-mountable bodies with an optional locking rod.
Steel cabinet with both doors open showing small parts bins on the doors and shelvesSteel Bin-Door CabinetsAll-welded steel cabinets with bins on the door panels — published in 36, 48, 60 and 72 inch widths plus specialty sizes, mostly for facilities and plant operations.

Specifying the interior

Almost every disappointing cabinet we are asked to replace was specified as a body and a door with the interior left to chance. These are the published interior components to decide on, and the questions we will ask you about each:

Interior component What it is for What we need from you
Adjustable shelves Boxed and cartoned stock The tallest carton per location, so the shelf pitch is set from real packaging rather than divided evenly
Adjustable shelf dividers Stopping stacks toppling into each other How many distinct items share a shelf
Hook managers Pre-packed items that hang, such as catheters and wires How many hanging positions, and the longest item
Box bin inserts Boxed stock that also has to be picked from the front Whether the department holds both hanging and boxed stock
Modular trays with dividers Small items that need compartments, published in shallow and deeper trays Which items travel to the point of use, so trays match the carts
Wire baskets Bulky or irregular packaged items Whether contents are picked from the top or the front
Cord managers and drip pan Hanging scope storage Number and length of scopes, and who cleans the pan
Locks and keying Restricted contents Which cabinets share a key, and who holds it

Match the tray format to the rest of the room. The single biggest efficiency gain from a cabinet is when its trays and baskets are the same format as the carts and wall units around it. Then central supply can pick a tray, wheel it to the department, and slide it into the cabinet without touching the contents.

Decide keying at design time, not on delivery. How cabinets are keyed — one key per department, per cabinet, or a master — is an operational decision that is annoying to change later, and it belongs on the layout drawing along with the parking and clearance notes.

Confirm the interior before the body. Widths and depths are the easy part; if the interior is right, the body follows from it.

Divided basket pulled out on a ball-bearing glide inside a storage unit
Cabinet bodies for the catheter, tray and scope configurations above are published by the manufacturer in a range of roughly 24 to 42 inch widths, 18 to 24 inch depths and 48 to 92 inch heights, with hanging scope capacities from about five to eighteen positions depending on the configuration. We publish those as ranges deliberately: we confirm current sizes, configurations and availability directly with the manufacturer for the models on your quote rather than quoting from literature.

Scope and drying storage: what we will and will not tell you

Hanging scope storage is one of the most frequently requested cabinets and the one where the most nonsense is published, so we will be plain about the line we draw.

What we can describe is the manufacturer’s published configuration: hanging positions with foam scope cues on adjustable arms, cushioned upper and lower cord managers for short and long scopes, a cushioned removable drip pan that slopes to the centre, a full cushioned back panel, a roll-top tambour door, and an optional HEPA-filtered fan ventilation unit offered as an accessory.

What we will not do is tell you what any of that achieves. We make no claim about drying, disinfection, contamination, air quality or storage duration, and we do not interpret guidelines, standards or survey criteria for you. Those outcomes are determined by your own reprocessing protocol and by the scope manufacturer’s instructions for use — not by a storage supplier.

What we do instead: design to the criteria your team provides, get you the manufacturer’s published documentation so your infection prevention and reprocessing leads can evaluate it themselves, and put the questions we cannot answer in front of the people who can.

Wall of open baskets and flat shelves holding packaged clinical supplies
  • Number of scopes per cabinet, and the longest scope in the set
  • Whether cabinets sit in the clean side of the workflow your team has defined
  • Who cleans the drip pan, and how often — it decides whether removable matters
  • Ventilation accessories, if your own protocol calls for them
  • Keying and access control for the room the cabinets stand in

Turning shelving into secured storage

You do not always need a cabinet. Standard shelving units can be closed in with wire enclosure panels, and closed further with panel doors and locks — which is usually cheaper than replacing a run, and reversible if the room changes use.

As published for the platform we most often quote: panels are fabricated from 6-gauge wire on 3-inch squares, one panel per side with two or three across the back, in shelf depths of 14, 18, 21 and 24 inches and heights of 63, 74 and 86 inches. A hardware clip package fastens panels tight to the shelves so they do not rattle in transit — worth specifying on anything mobile. Security panel doors and stationary security units are published on the same platform.

The trade-off is visibility: mesh keeps contents auditable at a glance, which solid doors do not. For high-value stock that also needs to be counted, mesh usually wins.

Wire enclosure panel behind two large red bins on a shelf
Storage cabinet with a full-width hook rail above a clear open bayOpen bay with a hook railOne rail and an empty bay below is often the whole specification for a pre-packed hanging item.
Single modular tray with dividers and a colour-coded label stripTrays that travelDivided trays with a colour-coded label strip move between cabinet, cart and wall unit without repacking.
Tall cabinet stacked with modular trays above a bank of small binsTrays over binsModular trays high, small bins low: the mix that suits most department stores rather than a single format. See bins and containers.

Where cabinets earn their place

Cabinets with blue doors and a work top beside pull-out supply drawersCorridors and nurse serversClosed fronts where patients and visitors pass, with a work top for the person restocking.
Layout view showing cabinets, shelving runs and matching mobile cartsCentral supplyCabinets for restricted and high-value stock inside a room that is otherwise open shelving. See central supply.
Chrome shelving unit built from stacked pull-out wire basketsSterile and case storageEnclosed or mesh-fronted storage where your own handling criteria call for it. See sterile processing storage.
Rack of angled white modular trays seen from the frontProcedure and cath lab roomsSmall-item visibility inside a closed body, so a restricted room still picks quickly. See operating room storage.

Cabinets also do a quieter job in plant operations and clinical engineering, where all-welded steel cabinets with bins on the doors keep parts organised and closed. That is the same product family in a very different room, and it is worth specifying together with the clinical work so the whole building is on one standard.

Work out which locations need a door

Use the Design Center to sketch the room and mark the locations that need to be enclosed or restricted, or send us the dimensions and we will do it with you.

Medical storage cabinet questions

Cabinets or open shelving?
Open shelving for most stock: it is faster to pick, faster to restock and easier to audit. Cabinets for contents that should not be on show, contents that need to be restricted, and contents that need protecting from the room. Deciding location by location beats deciding room by room.
Why a roll-top tambour door instead of hinged doors?
It needs no swing space in front of the cabinet, which in a corridor or a small supply room is often the only reason a door fits at all. Hinged and glass doors are published too, and glass keeps contents visible while closed.
Can we secure shelving we already own instead of buying cabinets?
Often yes. Wire enclosure panels and panel doors are published as accessories for standard shelving platforms — panels in 14, 18, 21 and 24 inch depths and 63, 74 and 86 inch heights. We confirm compatibility from the markings on your existing posts and shelves before quoting.
Do the cabinets take the same trays as our carts?
That is the point of standardising on a modular tray format: where trays and baskets are common between cabinets, carts and wall units, stock can be picked once and delivered without repacking. We confirm the format from your existing units first.
What can you tell us about scope drying and storage cabinets?
We can describe the manufacturer’s published configuration — hanging positions with foam cues on adjustable arms, cushioned cord managers, a removable sloped drip pan, a roll-top door and an optional HEPA-filtered fan ventilation unit. We will not tell you what that achieves. Drying, reprocessing and storage outcomes are determined by your protocol and the scope manufacturer’s instructions, and we do not interpret guidelines or survey criteria.
Are these cabinets suitable for controlled substances?
Storage for controlled items is governed by your own facility policy and the rules your pharmacy operates under, so that specification has to come from your team. What we can do is supply lockable enclosures, mesh security units and keyed cabinets, and specify exactly what your policy asks for.
What sizes are available?
The clinical cabinet bodies are published in a range of roughly 24 to 42 inch widths, 18 to 24 inch depths and 48 to 92 inch heights; the all-welded steel bin cabinets are published in 36, 48, 60 and 72 inch widths plus specialty sizes. We confirm exact current dimensions with the manufacturer at quote rather than working from literature.
Do you install them?
Yes — delivery windows, dock access, staging, assembly, levelling, anchoring where required, keying, punch list and packaging removal, phased so an occupied department keeps running.

Get a cabinet specification and a quote

Send the room dimensions and a note on what needs to be enclosed or restricted. We will come back with the interior specification, the cabinet bodies to match it, a layout and a quote including freight and installation scope.