The industry surrounding replacement medical imaging parts is like any other industry in that it’s constantly evolving. Although these changes might not be apparent right away, it’s very important to detect changes and understand how they will affect your daily operations.
Responding to changes before other medical facilities do might seem insignificant but keeping medical equipment up and running truly does affect the overall delivery of the services your facility provides — and it will keep you ahead of your competitors.
There are four major changes surrounding the spare parts industry that we are tracking. Anyone in the business of medical imaging parts needs to understand how these issues are going to affect the industry going forward.
#1 – More used parts sellers are emerging
There is more competition than ever when it comes to spare medical imaging parts. Because the barriers to entry for becoming a used medical equipment supplier relatively low, more and more medical imaging parts suppliers are emerging.
While this seems ideal because it will create more sources for parts, unfortunately the chances of encountering a phony supplier will also increase. New players to the industry might attempt to compete on price while giving little attention to quality customer service and good response times.
Fortunately, it is not terribly difficult to detect a phony equipment supplier. It just takes a little bit of research and attention to detail. We have a full article on this topic that’s worth your time. [LINK]
#2 – You’ll need more talent and staff
Healthcare is becoming more and more accessible, which is great for public health! As the demand for healthcare services grows, this will ultimately trickle down to staffing.
Hospitals and other medical facilities are going to need more staff to provide patient-facing services, administrative support and operation and facilities maintenance.
Medical imaging equipment experiences general wear and tear from daily use that’s only going to increase going forward. Medical equipment repair technicians have been in short supply the last few years. The current labor market is also making staffing difficult.
Healthcare Technology Management departments should focus on two areas:
- Preventing turnover
- Recruiting new employees
Executive should ask themselves, “what is my employees incentive to stay?”
It’s usually is not the act of recruiting new staff that costs a lot of money, but the loss of expertise that walks out the door that’s more costly.
#3 – Surveillance from the FDA
Over the years, the FDA has instituted programs that oversee medical devices with the goal of protecting consumers.
For the past several years, they have been working to further develop the National Evaluation System for Health Technology, also known as NEST. This initiative is intended to incorporate real-world data to rapidly identify and help address safety signals once devices are on the market through active surveillance.
As with any national initiative, these things take time to come to fruition. If and when Unique Device Identifiers are integrated into health care systems, it’s going to add another layer of complexity and cyber-security risks that those in healthcare technology management must be aware of.
#4 – Unused medical equipment has a very special place
Many organizations leave unused medical equipment on their shelves.
These unused devices still need to be accounted for, so money is often wasted on keeping this equipment around for no real purpose.
Further complicating these situations is the fact that individual departments might be responsible for the sale of these assets but lack a clear process for their sale and removal.
Ultimately this equipment could be used for better purposes.
That’s why it’s important to develop a cradle-to-grave program that maximizes your medical equipment. A comprehensive program should cover options such as: transfer, sale, trade-in, parts harvest, donate, and scrap.
It is possible to sell unused medical equipment through Parts Consulting Group. Contact us [LINK] and provide us with a list of the unused medical equipment you believe could be sold.
If you’re searching for used medical equipment parts for your diagnostic equipment, radiology systems and other life-saving devices, we encourage you to search our inventory. We have thousands of parts in-stock and ready to ship.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? We’re always adding new parts to our inventory and some might not appear in our web store yet! Feel free to contact us with questions about any part.