by
Sean Ruck, Contributing Editor | November 04, 2014
From the August 2014 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Meanwhile, Bayer Multi Vendor Service offers maintenance and repair capabilities on all major brands of radiology coils, probes and imagers used in the U.S., according to Bill Kollitz, head of Bayer Multi Vendor Service. “These products are serviced in the field by our field service engineers, at our facility in Pittsburgh, and our remote facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” Kollitz says. However, the MVS division does not service equipment that directly competes with Bayer products, according to Kollitz.
As for getting field service engineers involved with equipment issues, Shawn Kimmel, head of U.S. Service says Bayer field service engineers respond within 30 minutes to requests in order to determine if the problem can be addressed remotely or if onsite service is necessary. When onsite service is called for, service engineers usually arrive same-day or early the following morning.
For multi-vendor service dealing with CR and dry film printer service, technical support is just a phone call away, with Bayer offering free phone-based support to anyone needing it. “If a service call by an engineer is required, that engineer will be onsite within eight business hours of receiving the call for a contracted customer,” says Kollitz. “Calls are acknowledged within 15 to 30 minutes after the service request is placed with our call center. For depot based repairs, Multi Vendor Service can respond to requests for probe and coil repair with a no charge loaner shipped overnight for first priority delivery, and completes most repairs within a few days of receiving the customer’s product in house,” he says.
Bayer is able to provide such prompt service to customers in part because its Health-Care Service team specializes in servicing the company’s product portfolio of power injectors, according to Osbourn. And most parts are near at hand. “These field service engineers carry sufficient ‘trunk stock’ to have the products on hand,” says Osbourn.
This means there’s no delay waiting for a part to arrive. Bayer also offers Virtual Care which allows for remote diagnosis to help identify and possibly resolve errors remotely. All of this is backed by a 24/7 technical assistance center, she says.
As a group, they believe as imaging technology continues to advance, software will play a growing role in its operation and by extension, remote service and monitoring will become a more important service and should be a welcome one for cost-conscious hospitals.
Another tip they offer for cost-conscious hospitals, or really any facility that isn’t looking to throw out money is to be sure of what’s being included when it comes to negotiating a service contract. They suggest hospitals look at the details of the individual proposals to ensure an “apples to apples” comparison. What may seem like a deal can ultimately cost more than another offer once all aspects of a contract are considered.
