Five Ways Hospitals Can Curb Rising Maintenance Costs

Hospitals are looking to reduce overhead costs as the healthcare industry continues to transform. Healthcare facilities are taking steps to improve equipment maintenance and repair processes, in order to reduce costs and ensure the long-term reliability of the equipment. Here are five suggestions for reducing costs through maintenance and repairs.

Use what you have- healthcare facilities frequently outsource their equipment support services, but some simple, minor adjustments can be performed by an in-house clinician.

Use vendors with remote service options- clinical engineers will use an expert third-party vendor who can offer remote dial-in support when equipment malfunctions. Therefore, clinical engineers diagnose their own equipment and determine if a field technician is required to fix the machine.

Rely more on third-party vendors- Original Equipment Manufacturers are typically more expensive than third-party vendors, but clinical engineers can be confident that their repairs will be reliable. Nonetheless, partnering with a third-party vendor organization can reduce total cost of ownership through reducing the cost of parts, minimizing the cost of system downtown, and eliminating the need to outsource services. Working with third-party vendors can save operators as much as 97% verses Original Equipment Manufacturers.

Pay attention to warranties and reputations- Clinical engineers are concerned that third party vendors may make mistakes during the repair process. A third party vendor should provide high-quality repairs and replacement parts. A good indicator of a vendor's service quality is the length of its warranty. Companies with longer warranties provide higher quality parts that last longer.

Ensure equipment is properly maintained- X-Ray, CT and MR equipment can have long lives that last 2-3 decades when properly maintained. Meanwhile, the useful life of an ultra-sound is 6-8 years, but it is becoming an increasingly popular method because it is safe and non-invasive.

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