Cost-Effective Strategies For Equipment Service And Repair In

Healthcare Settings
By Medinnova July 12, 2023 Medical Equipment

Today, healthcare facilities need to change their approach and method towards
equipment maintenance and repair; and explore opportunities to improve
efficiency of their day-to-day operations and also manage their costs well. From
examining small yet important areas of the hospital operations to taking extreme
measures, there are many ways to adhere to the cost-effective strategies for
equipment service and repair. Today, reliance on medical devices has escalated so
much that it is directly associated with patient’s health and safety, patients’s life
during emergency situations. On the other side, medical technology is advancing at
a rapid pace; therefore, healthcare facilities should look for high-quality equipment
maintenance support to save on costs and contribute to efficient equipment
lifecycle management.

Preventive maintenance
A proactive, well-designed, comprehensive and professionally managed preventive
maintenance program is essential to avoid expensive repair and unexpected
interruptions in providing quality care to patients. The program often involves
frequent, well-planned inspection, cleaning and calibration steps to identify and
resolve issues before they worsen.

Professional equipment maintenance contracts

Hospitals can consider getting into such contracts with medical equipment
suppliers in India. Such comprehensive support includes almost everything from
repairs, maintenance to parts replacement and assistance from qualified and
experienced team of Bio-medical Engineers for medical equipment upkeep.

Training
It is important to use qualified team to maintain and repair medical equipments.
Hospitals should make sure that their staff receives regular training on the use of
every medical equipment so that they follow the correct procedures and practices
so as to minimize the risk and contribute to the patient safety. This is also
fundamental to saving costs. Healthcare professionals who work directly with
medical devices must have the required knowledge, experience and skills to handle
equipments wisely.

Critical equipments – priority

There are some equipments that need immediate attention when they breakdown.
A professional support that provides immediate human and technological
resources including spare parts, repair, etc. will help you to avoid unexpected
disruptions in patient care.

Asset management
Hospitals and other healthcare facilities should implement appropriate asset
management system to keep a detailed track of medical equipment lifecycle,
history, warranty, etc. to pave the way for enhanced equipment lifecycle
management.

Performance metrics
It is advisable to track parameters for every equipment such as energy
consumption, error rates, uptime, maintenance costs, etc. to design maintenance
schedules accordingly.

Replacement Vs repairing
Key factors such as costs, spare parts accessibility or availability, downtime and
efficiency involved in parts or equipment replacements or repairing must be
analyzed to manage your costs wisely or invest in the solution that works best in
terms of patient safety.