What are the advantages of medical equipment maintenance?
Why is medical equipment maintenance needed, and what are the advantages?
Here are our six top reasons why you should maintain your healthcare equipment!
1.0 Safeguarding the health and safety of patients
Functionality, operation, and efficiency of the equipment in use can have a significant impact on the care you provide. You cannot provide your patients with the best possible care if your medical devices are faulty or do not perform as expected. Maintaining and testing your equipment regularly can prevent inaccurate information, malfunctions and unreliability, potentially injuring patients, staff and others who use it.
Serviced equipment can increase the confidence of your staff in the equipment, which will positively influence patient care, making the environment more comfortable and safe. An effective ongoing service program and properly maintained equipment contribute to staff and patient safety as well. When potential issues are identified before they occur, devices are less likely to malfunction, break down, or cause injury.
2.0 Whole of Life Cost
Whole-life cost is the total expense of owning an asset over its entire life, from purchase to disposal, as determined by financial analysis.
You will get years of consistent reliable use from your Emery purchase; our equipment is designed to meet the rigors of use in 24 hour by 7 day operations. This is one of the reasons why we can confidently offer a warranty period that is 2 times the industry standard.
Our simple maths example of what we mean is shown below:
Whole of Life Cost | Emery Product | Competition Product |
Purchase Cost | $550 | $480 |
Average Life | Up to 5 years | Up to 3 years |
Real Cost | $110/yr | $160/yr |
Our units actually save you money and the hassle and additional expense of going through the
procurement cycle again for the same item in a much shorter time frame
3.0 Ensure Compliance
Medical equipment in your facility should be compliant with the guidelines surrounding that piece of equipment and set by the government. There are organisations that ensure compliance with federal regulatory standards for hospitals.
The regulations for maintaining a complete inventory list of equipment can vary from state to state, but most require the facility to follow the manufacturer’s maintenance guidelines and identify critical and high-risk equipment in the inventory list. While adhering to regulations can sometimes be time-consuming and overwhelming, having the right team in place and keeping an accurate maintenance record can help everyone feel confident in an inspection that the facility and its equipment are compliant.
4.0 Identify Risks
In addition to mitigating risk, well-maintained equipment identifies potential risks before they become problematic, ensuring the safest possible healthcare experience for your patients. A patient or staff injury caused by faulty equipment can lead to a number of issues, such as financial loss, legal action, and reputational damage if not identified early.
You have a duty of care to maintain the working condition of your equipment and keeping your equipment in proper working order is absolutely critical. Conducting onset testing and servicing is the key to ensuring your facility avoids unnecessary expenses.
5.0 Operational Efficiency
The failure of some medical devices might not create safety issues, but rather an inefficient performance level, which makes your job harder. It is advisable to establish a maintenance plan so that you can stay prepared. This is because the piece of equipment can no longer be used or needs to be repaired over time. Therefore, you can still take care of your patients without compromising on patient care, and you have saved yourself quite a bit of trouble.
6.0 A Professional Approach
Although this is probably the least significant of the six, it is nonetheless something that should always be considered. Inefficient and substandard care may cause patients to perceive you as being unprofessional if your equipment is constantly breaking down or malfunctioning.
Maintaining regular maintenance checks can avoid damaging your reputation regardless of the size of your facility.
How Can Emery Industries Help?
Emery Industries has ergonomically designed all of our products to ensure they are suitable for the task without the need for staff to adapt. Our equipment has been designed with you in mind, aiming to increase work quality and production as well as worker well-being.
You can always give your Emery sales representative a call or email us directly to receive a prompt response and quick solutions to any problems should a breakdown occur.