Over 90 Total Lots Up For Auction at One Location - WA 04/08

How to Get the Most Out of Your Service Providers (and Add Value to Your Facility)

Sponsored Content | August 21, 2014

Not enough has been written about the incredible level of skill it takes for clinical engineers to survive in healthcare today. Biomeds are constantly balancing competing goals in an environment where value-based purchasing is the new direction, but difficult to achieve. A clinical engineer not only has to maintain complex equipment, he or she is also expected to add value to the healthcare facility by finding ways to support and expand the clinical mission.


Elevating the standard of care while managing costs is no simple task. It is now absolutely necessary for hospitals and other healthcare facilities since they are reimbursed based on efficiency and patient satisfaction scores. An unexpected, but positive, side effect of improving standards can be an improvement in hospital reputation; something that upper management is always looking to accomplish. Anything that contributes to the overall efficiency, and subsequently, the reputation of the facility, will certainly be viewed as a value-added asset to the organization.

A good reputation can equate to real business value in the form of transparency. Patient satisfaction scores have been made publicly available through sites such as medicare.gov/hospitalcompare. Savvy consumers research and consider these measurements in order to get the best care possible. This means that hospitals now have to compete more than ever for every patient dollar.


Efficiency. Cost management. Transparency. These are the factors that keep your hospital leadership up at night. Stepping up and devising new ways to impact these issues is not only good for the hospital and it's patients, it shows just how skilled you are and can help you advance your personal career.

In an effort to get the best price from potential vendors, it can be tempting to only compare costs when looking for a service provider. You may be thinking that lower costs (i.e. cheaper contracts) always result in a balanced department budget and happy leadership, but this is not always the case. It's also easy to succumb to hearsay and myths (e.g. "OEMs are the most expensive options".) The truth is, an OEM may actually be the best value due to the types of support that may be included with the service contracts. Additional resources such as consistent reporting and data analysis can help you determine utilization rates. And knowing your utilization rates ensures that your facility is accessing all of the reimbursements it is entitled to receive. This is the type of information that helps a facility manage their business and is invaluable when you look at your facility from a "big picture" perspective.

To compare vendors and uncover items you might need, and may not be explicit in your service vendor contracts, download the Service comparison worksheet for evaluating service providers. Give this checklist to everyone bidding on your business.

Have each company, bidding to support your equipment service efforts, complete it so you can easily compare apples to apples and discover anything that may be buried in the fine print. And most importantly, to make sure that you're doing everything you can to keep your system availability high and also contribute to your facility's HCAP scores. Your service contract should provide you with the tools and information you need to monitor and drive efficiency, making your department a consultative resource for your organization.

Make the decision to have a positive impact on the health of patients while protecting your facility's bottom line. Download the Service comparison worksheet today to find out if your service provider is not only focused on the repair of your equipment, but also understands the big picture and is equipped to be a strategic partner. Look beyond price to see how equipment maintenance cost is affecting your facility. In today's environment, you can't afford anything less.

For a free consultation of your clinical engineering department or to see how you can obtain the right service contracts for you, call 1 800 555 8333 or visit www.siemens.com/valuebeyondcost.

Back to HCB News