4 Advantages of Choosing a Values-Based Medical Equipment Partner
To deliver exceptional patient care, healthcare organizations need strong partnerships with medical equipment providers. The equipment these companies provide, including infusion pumps, telemetry devices, and other tools, are essential to facilitate medical care that improves health.
Choosing the right partner — one you can trust to deliver equipment that meets regulatory and safety standards, good customer service, and easy, fast repairs — is essential. When healthcare organizations partner with values-based companies that are committed to exceptional quality and safety, they set themselves up for success.
Below, we explore just a few of the benefits you can achieve by partnering with a values-based medical equipment company.
1. Risk Sharing
When an OEM device fails, customers take a hit. Risk mitigation may be even more challenging if the OEM refuses to absorb any related customer expenses, such as cost of temporary rental equipment. However, a values-driven medical equipment manufacturer that prioritizes patient safety will take responsibility for risk sharing. That means they’ll stand by the healthcare organization publicly and financially because they believe in the integrity of their equipment.
A partner that helps the organization with unexpected costs and takes a proactive, responsible approach to problem solving can significantly offset the impact of a product recall or patient event.
2. Faster Repair Turnaround Times
Quality medical equipment manufacturers and repair companies tend to have faster repair turnaround times, often because they are based in the U.S. This allows them to avoid global shipping delays, reduced inventory, and other common challenges. In addition, biomedical equipment partners who display the “Made in the USA” label signify that they are made from domestically sourced materials under ethical business practices.
Ultimately, choosing a values-based biomedical equipment partner allows you to address common concerns including slow turnaround times, backordered parts, and inconsistent repair quality.
3. Enhanced Product Quality
Unlike OEMs, which are subject to rigorous FDA medical device standards, third-party companies that manufacture after-market medical devices aren’t required to comply with the same requirements. This can result in a less rigorous quality management system and a lack of transparency regarding sourcing and manufacturing processes.
Some manufacturers, however, do choose to voluntarily register with the FDA and thereby comply with the same standards as OEMs. With a commitment to quality and safety, these manufacturers’ products tend to experience fewer quality variations and less device downtime.
4. Better Customer Service
A manufacturer’s customer service has the potential to make or break your experience with them. A values-driven manufacturer will prioritize the customer service experience with an intuitive website, product listings that are easy to understand, fast response times, and polite and friendly staff interactions.
The customer service experience directly reflects the manufacturer’s values. Typically, when employees sound happy and appear to enjoy doing their jobs, it indicates that the business cares about maintaining a supportive company culture.
Final Thoughts
The benefits of partnering with a values-based, third-party biomedical equipment company are clear. However, finding the right partners and forging those relationships takes time and resources.
To help you navigate this process, we developed “The Ultimate Guide to Vetting Quality Medical Equipment Partners.” The guide outlines actionable tips for assessing the ethics, reliability, and other offerings that OEM, ISO, or third-party biomedical equipment businesses bring to the table, including:
- How to approach deep-dive vetting before the RFP
- How to vet beyond standard RFP requirements
- Quick vetting tips for busy hospital BMETs
Download the guide now.
