Why Preventative Maintenance Is Essential For Medical Equipment
Meta description: Maintenance of medical equipment is very important; it reduces costs, improves safety, and gives medics peace of mind.
Preventive maintenance involves regularly servicing equipment that helps to keep it from failing, and is especially important in the medical field. Engineers employ preventive maintenance in various industries, but it is especially useful in the medical field.
In the following post, we will review the many reasons why maintenance is important for medical equipment.
It Generates Significant Financial Savings
In fact, hospitals spend more than $200 billion on medical devices each year. In some instances, they are buying new equipment. But in most cases, they are simply replacing older items.
Medical supplies usually last around seven to ten years if used regularly. With proper care, it can last for many years.
It is much more costly to replace all medical equipment than to make repairs. Routinely replacing damaged components with refurbished ones can cut costs in the long run and save practices a small fortune.
It Improves Safety
Medical devices need to perform to specification all the time; they are used to protect patients and staff. If equipment isn’t working properly, patients and staff may be put at risk.
In the medical world, equipment that is regularly serviced by qualified professionals is safer than equipment that is not serviced. If an issue occurs, engineers can find it quickly and fix it before it becomes a big problem.
Throughout history, doctors’ offices, clinics, and hospitals have had to respond to numerous medical equipment and device failures. Medtronic’s insulin pumps had to be recalled and Edwards Lifesciences monitors too, due to fluid leakages that occurred from power units. Those who regularly scheduled preventive maintenance were able to quickly identify these risks; others had to wait until the problem was solved before providing treatment.
It Boosts Operational Efficiency
There are many reasons to believe that doing routine maintenance prevents equipment failure and increases operation efficiency. If they have the right equipment, doctors will see seven to eight thousand people per day. If the right equipment maintenance schedule is in place, doctors could see even more patients.
When equipment is well maintained, doctors can access and use it more freely. There’s less messing around with buttons or programming instruments. And they work right away, right “out of the box”, and they provide better service to patients than older devices.
If medical equipment doesn’t perform well, it can actually reduce productivity. When equipment doesn’t perform as it should, patients are forced to wait longer in waiting rooms, and physicians have to work harder to keep up with demand. Queues start to form in waiting rooms, doctors start to work too long to clear backlogs, and nurses start to work longer hours.
It is easy to schedule routine maintenance for your medical equipment. Companies like Preventive Maintenance Medical Inc. (PM Medical), sets you up on a preventive maintenance schedule that meets the manufacturer’s and industry requirements. If you need to contact them after hours, they’ll reach out to you. They know that out of regular maintenance, emergencies happen and that you may need a part replaced that day.
It Reduces Frustration
Lastly, regular maintenance reduces frustration and helps to keep medical professionals happy. Deep down, medical staff are human, too Because just as any other person is annoyed with the fact that their equipment doesn’t work the way it should, medical professionals are also frustrated when their equipment doesn’t work properly. It is annoying to try to get a broken ultrasound machine to produce an image that can be used to diagnose a patient.
With regular maintenance, though, you eliminate these issues completely. Medical staff are happier because equipment works just as it did on the day it was installed. For more information about how to prevent failures in your medical equipment, visit PM Medical’s website today!