Surgical Products - July 2014

directly from the manufacturer to ensure the equipment is working in compliance with the OEM standard. This can provide an added layer of confidence that the repair was made correctly and nearly eliminates any need for an immediate or subsequent “re-repair.”

Improved Patient Care

As instrument repair adds financial value to hospitals, it also brings value to their patients.

Hospital staff can focus
on their top priority, patient care, rather than whether or not the equip-
ment will perform. Also, patients may experience fewer delays in care
resulting from instruments being unavailable or broken.

Finding Value

As simple as it may sound, quality repair for the diversity of equipment a hospital or surgery center uses throughout the course of the day cannot be delivered by just anyone. In healthcare, equipment repairs can be made to basic daily equipment like a waiting room chair, but in most cases, the repairs are on instruments used for patient care – and in some cases may even be critical in saving lives – and you want to make sure you have confidence in the qualifications of your provider.

For a hospital to maximize the value in instrument repair, it is important that they choose a provider that fits their needs. When making the decision to add instrument repair to a hospital, decision makers should look for a service that optimizes the life and value of their equipment.

Strategies for choosing a provider can be quite complex with a variety of considerations, but below are a few tips to help determine the best fit.

• Evaluate: Start with evaluating your routine repair needs by determining how critical the equipment is to the care your facility provides and how often repairs are needed. This will help you determine what level of service matches your needs as repair providers range significantly in level of certifications, skills, and accessibility.

• Availability: It’s hard to predict when a valuable piece of equipment will go down, so it’s important to understand how long your provider will take to fit it into their schedule. Providers that have trouble-shooting helplines can also be a benefit in determining if there is a quick fix or if it needs a more thorough, off-site repair. Unusable equipment is expensive, so accessibility to your service provider’s expertise is of the essence.

• Commitment to Uptime: Determine in advance if the provider offers on-
site support or if they can provide loaner instruments while yours is being
repaired. Similar value-added services can increase your facilities uptime.

• Equipment Care Education: Repair providers who are dedicated to helping you maximize the life-cycle of your equipment can help identify if there are any care practices that can be improved to help minimize repairs. For example, some service providers can help you determine if the instrument is being cleaned and stored properly to maximize its lifespan.

• Highest Standards: Consider choosing a provider that has access to OEM original parts and the tools specifically designed to repair that equipment. Doing so can provide the hospital with confidence that their instruments operate in the manner in which they were originally designed and that the repair staff are trained to handle the instruments according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This can increase safety and confidence in the product, as simply replacing parts of a piece of equipment with a generic part can affect the performance of the equipment and be riskier in procedures.

Hospitals are constantly striving to provide quality patient care, while saving money. Utilizing instrument repairs gives them the opportunity to capitalize on their equipment and maximize uptime. Deep down, who delivers your repair service matters and a relationship with that provider should be built on their accountability to service your repair needs at the highest quality, in a timely fashion.