Alberta clinics order gloves in cases because the per-glove price falls, but a case is only a saving if it is used before the glove stiffens and if the size split matches the staff room. The two decisions — how many cases and which sizes — are usually made separately, and that is where the waste sits. This page ties them together for a clinic buying 
nitrile examination gloves, 3.5 mil, 1,000 per case in bulk.
How many cases of exam gloves does a clinic use in a month?
Work from patient contacts and glove changes. A clinic seeing 70 patients a day at 2.5 changes each uses 175 gloves a day, or about 3,675 a month over 21 working days. A case of 1,000 gloves therefore lasts roughly six working days, which means a monthly order is really four cases before any buffer.
| Clinic profile | Patients per day | Changes each | Gloves per month | Cases of 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single practitioner | 25 | 2.5 | 1,313 | 1.3 |
| Three chairs | 70 | 2.5 | 3,675 | 3.7 |
| Five chairs, mixed practice | 110 | 3 | 6,930 | 6.9 |
| Care home, per 100 beds | n/a | n/a | 8,000 to 10,000 | 8 to 10 |
How should the size split be ordered in bulk?
Order the split, not the average. Bulk pricing usually applies per case regardless of size, so there is no cost penalty for ordering medium and large separately. Measure the team once a year and write the split on the order file; a clinic that orders equal quantities of each size ends up short on medium and holding small gloves that expire.
Where a practice employs locums or students, add one case of medium beyond the measured split. Medium is the size that absorbs turnover.
What specifications should the purchase order carry?
Ask for the material, thickness, texture, and the specification the glove is made to. For nitrile examination gloves, ASTM D6319 is the specification buyers commonly reference for dimensions, tensile strength and pinhole acceptance. Ask for the AQL the manufacturer works to and for the lot number on each case.
Confirm the packing configuration as well. A case can be ten boxes of 100 or five boxes of 200, and the configuration decides how many times a box is opened on the floor, which in turn affects how much dust and handling the gloves see before use.
How should cases be stored through an Alberta winter?
Nitrile tolerates cold better than latex, but repeated freeze-thaw and low humidity still make gloves stiffer and more likely to tear at the cuff. Store cases indoors at room temperature, off the floor, and let a case that arrived on a cold dock come up to room temperature before opening it. Do not store cases against an exterior wall or beside a loading door.
Keep a printable count sheet so the reorder is predictable rather than reactive. The clinic supply planner produces a worksheet with chair counts and per-patient draws that can be pinned in the stock room.
Ordering for several clinics? Wholesale and multi-site ordering covers case pricing and account setup, and the B2B wholesale collection lists the lines stocked for institutional buyers. For a mixed quarterly list, a bulk quote is the faster route than a purchase order per item. Reselling? become a distributor.
Related reading
Nitrile exam gloves wholesale: case sizes and ASTM levels; ordering exam gloves by case: cost per glove; glove expiry and storage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cases of exam gloves does a clinic use in a month?
Seventy patients a day at 2.5 glove changes each is about 3,675 gloves a month, or roughly four cases of 1,000 before any buffer.
How should a bulk glove order split sizes?
Order the split your staff actually wear rather than equal quantities of each size. Add one case of medium beyond the measured split where locums or students work.
How should glove cases be stored in an Alberta winter?
Indoors at room temperature, off the floor and away from exterior walls. Let a case that arrived on a cold dock reach room temperature before opening it.
CliniEco Medical is a licensed medical device establishment (MDEL #35334).
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