In this article, we will highlight all the issues of professional health equipment management and put forward innovative approaches to overcome these challenges.
What are the challenges of medical device management?
For healthcare organisations, the acquisition of healthcare equipment is a significant investment, so much so that in France, the medical device market is estimated to be worth between €25 billion and €35 billion in 2021, which represents around 5 to 6.5% of the global market (*1).
Healthcare equipment encompasses a wide range of tangible assets that contribute to the successful mission of healthcare organizations, ranging from simple healthcare supplies to the largest medical devices. Given the magnitude of the task, asset managers face several challenges.
Medical Equipment Tracking
One of the major challenges of material management in the medical context is the control of the use of expensive equipment that circulates in the hands of many employees in the same establishment. Keeping a close eye on the use and maintenance of these devices is therefore crucial, because in the event that a device is unavailable or fails, a patient’s life could be at stake.
Hospital stock management
The management of healthcare equipment also involves the management of a multitude of items such as consumables (medicines, sterile gloves, surgical masks, etc.) or small devices (thermometers, blood pressure monitors and other medical and surgical instruments, etc.). Hospital stock management consists of ensuring the regulation of supply thanks to a well-established Medical Inventory plan. This strategy avoids stock-outs and ensures better control over the budget
Strengthening internal efficiency
To ensure the performance of each healthcare staff, it is essential that they are sufficiently equipped for their mission. Imagine the chaos that reigns when a hospital’s emergency department is subject to a large influx of people in distress, and caregivers run out of first aid, or have to scramble to find the location of any medical equipment. Now, imagine the result when all the resources needed to care for patients are well organized and in sufficient quantity.
Improving the quality of care
In addition to providing a safe environment to welcome patients, the effective management of medical equipment contributes significantly to improving their health conditions, and by extension, their level of satisfaction. For example, the availability and functional status of certain healthcare equipment (X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, etc.) allow a health professional to quickly make a diagnosis and give the patient the care he or she needs.
Safety of medical staff
Medical equipment management is also critically important to the well-being of healthcare professionals. The use of these accessories and equipment must follow a strict protocol to avoid any form of incident such as the transmission of viruses and bacteria, or accidents related to the handling of dangerous substances.
And to overcome all these challenges, professionals in the medical industry are more than ever forced to revolutionize their approaches. Implementing asset management software is the best way to Healthcare Hardware Management Solution, because only a tool of this calibre allows us to have a 360-degree view of the physical heritage of a care and health structure.
Example of how to use healthcare equipment management software at Philips
Philips is a world-renowned company that has been operating in many fields for more than a century by providing devices with cutting-edge technology. To illustrate the benefits of a digital tool in healthcare asset management, let’s dive into the experience of Philips Austria. The company has chosen Timly inventory management software to provide support for its medical demonstration devices. These high-tech devices are offered to potential customers who can test them at home for months before deciding whether to make a purchase or return them to Philips.
More concretely, the Healthcare Hardware Management at Philips is done seamlessly through the use of smart GPS trackers that help track equipment in real-time regardless of its location. The software then centralizes the data on a user-friendly interface, accessible from any device through the inventory management app. But in addition to the tracking function, the tool also allows Philips to manage the allocation of healthcare equipment to employees who in turn want to offer it to prospects. In this way, it is easy to plan the delivery of said equipment.
This use case of professional healthcare equipment management software demonstrates that a single tool can take on multiple roles. First, this solution helps ensure the security and integrity of a sophisticated, high-value medical device; even if it is deployed several kilometers from a company’s headquarters. Second, it offers an intuitive dashboard that helps manage other aspects of hardware resources, such as inventory management, access authorization management, and assigning medical equipment to users.
Conclusion: Why automate medical equipment management with dedicated software?
With the technological evolution affecting many industries, including healthcare, it is becoming impossible, if not unthinkable, to rely on traditional methods of medical device management. Simple spreadsheets or digital documents stored locally in computers are time-consuming and prone to human error that can then cost an organization dearly, especially when it comes to managing a large amount of elements.
Today, it is important to raise awareness among players in the medical sector about the introduction of new technologies in their internal processes, as in the case of Philips with Timly. An all-in-one software of this scale makes it possible to:
- Automate inventory procedures for equipment, consumables and care materials,
- Locate equipment in real time and know who is using it,
- Plan the maintenance of medical devices to anticipate unforeseen breakdowns,
- Manage employee skills, training and certifications related to the use of equipment.
Ultimately, organizations working in the world of health and medicine can free up valuable time to better focus on what matters most: the well-being of patients. And if, according to a study conducted by Gartner Digital Markets, 67% of the medical companies surveyed would take between 3 and 6 months to find the software that seems suitable for them (*2), why not opt for a management solution with a holistic aim?
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