Your medical equipment and machines need to be in optimum condition all the time. While some hospitals employ in-house repair technicians, this solution doesn't suit every facility. Sometimes, it makes more sense to outsource this job to biomedical engineering firms.

What are the benefits of outsourcing your equipment repairs?

1. Get Expert Repairs For All Your Equipment

Your hospital is likely to use diverse types of machines and equipment. Some of your stock will be older and well-established. However, you'll also invest in newer technologies as they develop.

While you might have maintenance staff on site who can deal with some repairs, they might not be able to manage newer purchases. Highly computerized and technical machines, like MRI scanners, require specialist maintenance and repair training and skills.

If you outsource repairs, then you access a larger pool of talent. A biomedical engineering company will have technicians who can work on all kinds of medical equipment and machines. You get the expertise you need to make a competent and timely repair.

2. Streamline Your Clinical Asset Management

Over the years, you'll have purchased different machines and pieces of equipment from different vendors. You might have individual maintenance and repair contracts with different companies. You might not always get a speedy repair if you have to work out who to call whenever a machine breaks down.

Plus, it's not always easy to keep track of your assets, their warranties, and their condition over the years. You might miss servicing deadlines. You might not replace assets as soon as you should, leading to more breakdowns and downtime.

When you outsource repairs, the consulting firm pulls all this information together. You don't just get a single point of contact whenever you need a repair. The company also helps you create a unified and coherent asset management plan.

3. Reduce Your Costs

In-house equipment repairs can increase your operating costs. For example, you have to employ technicians and pay for up-to-date training as your clinical stock changes.

Training is less cost-effective for more advanced equipment, like MRI and CT machines. You might only have one or two of these machines on site; however, you'll pay high training costs to get the in-house skills you need.

You might also pay more for your existing repair and maintenance contracts. If you have contracts with different suppliers, then you might have some crossover services. You could be paying multiple times for the same deal.

If you outsource this job, then you can downsize your technical support teams and reduce training costs. You can then centralize all your contracts with one company which gives you a more economical solution.

For more information, ask biomedical consulting firms like Electrokinetic Signal Research, Inc. about their outsourcing services.