by
Lisa Chamoff, Contributing Reporter | August 12, 2016
From the August 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Aside from CT and MR equipment, The Remi Group can also cover laboratory equipment, as well as computer and security equipment. Schuster says some types of equipment, such as sterilizers and HVAC systems, receive better service and price under a traditional maintenance contract. “The decision really gets down to the end user of that contract,” Schuster says. “Yes, there are savings, but they might have their own reasons for why they want to keep it under a maintenance contract.”
RENOVO, which also focuses on just equipment management, generally starts off by helping the leaders of a facility figure out what they are spending fully on contractual agreements with an OEM or ISO, and service as needed without a contract, as well as the facility’s internal expenses within the clinical biomedical engineering department.
“We put into a database what it truly costs to maintain under a management program through RENOVO,” says Sandy Morford, RENOVO’s chief executive officer. “Ninety-nine times out of 100, that is going to generate a cost savings, generally north of 15 percent.” That savings comes from economies of scale. “Because of the large volume of business we do and the amount of equipment we take care of, we will get better rates for service or parts,” Morford says. “We just have better volume to bring to the table.”
Add-ons
Siemens, a longtime manufacturer of medical equipment, including imaging equipment and software, added its Enterprise Services offering over the past year. The division focuses on procurement, installation and maintenance of equipment, but also offers services related to other challenges that health care systems face. “It’s really understanding what their challenge is,” Collins says. “What is the problem they’re trying to solve? It is a very flexible offering.”
Flewwelling, of the William Osler Health System, says the transition to working with Siemens has been smooth over the first year. Within the last six months, it replaced a Siemens Avanto 1.5 Tesla MRI with a Siemens FIT 1.5 Tesla MRI at Etobicoke General, and with a portable MRI installed right outside of the emergency department, there was no downtime and the project management support from Siemens included planning on how to move patients through.
“This used to be very disruptive to our organization and the clinical staff was nervous because it was the first big replacement,” Flewwelling says. “It was absolutely seamless.” Beyond equipment maintenance and replacement, Siemens is also on hand to provide help with other projects. For example, the system is looking at expanding and enhancing its stroke program, and the contract includes consulting support. “We were really looking for more than someone who would replace or sell the equipment,” Flewwelling says. “We were really looking to a long-term partnership.”
