by
John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter | August 02, 2021
From the August 2021 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Non-OEMs can help in-house teams, whether it be training them or performing certain tasks to allow a hospital’s biomeds to focus on bigger service and repair projects considered “mission-critical” for hospital operations, says Brandon Anaya, VP of sales and marketing for Tenacore.
“With highly trained in-house programs, support is often needed for higher volume devices and less complex repairs. This is because there may not be a lack of capabilities as much as there is a lack of bandwidth,” he said. “The opposite may be true where a highly trained in-house program is focused on a large-scale preventive maintenance (PM) project and our assistance is temporarily required for more complex repairs. Sometimes these shops prefer to continue doing more complex repairs and outsource the large-scale PM projects to companies that are willing to travel onsite like us.”
In addition to traditional offerings, many ISOs utilize remote monitoring and AI capabilities to detect problems ahead of time to support preventive maintenance. “By embracing these technologies, it allows the customer to get their issues resolved quicker and results in less of an impact for their facility,” said Shelby Lemler, VP of operations for MXR Imaging, a large independent servicer of imaging technology. “Since we have seen the problem and the equipment, we are better prepared to get the issue resolved.”
Finding the right partner
Brand new technology will rarely be serviced by anyone other than the manufacturer, but there are other scenarios that may call for OEM support too. For example, error codes in medical device software. Still, the value proposition of independent service is applicable to the vast majority of technology on the market.
Ted Lucidi, CBET, clinical marketing and commercial specialist for Innovatus, says it is important for non-OEMs to be upfront about what they can and cannot do, to save hospitals time and money. “In some instances, an immediate, high priority, pressing need forces the need for OEM service.”
Even in situations that require OEM assistance, ISOs and third-parties may still be able to help. For example, TRIMEDX, an independent clinical asset management company, has established close ties and partnerships with OEMs and can connect providers to them quickly, if needed.
“Through OEMs relationships, TRIMEDX is able to obtain service whether it be under warranty, on a material basis or even under service contracts. The majority of our parts come through these OEM relationships, as well as our technical training and support,” said Robert Moorey, senior vice president of customer delivery for TRIMEDX's east operations.