If you use medical equipment such as EKGs or patient monitoring devices in a health care environment, you know that their frequent use will lead to a slow deterioration over time. After considerable wear of these devices, you must make the choice to replace the equipment or seek out a reliable repair company. This takes some strategic thinking. You must plan for the future of your organization and determine how long you can maintain your equipment before sending it out for repair.

Should You Repair Your Medical Equipment?

Many factors must be considered before sending your old piece of equipment out for repair. Does the old equipment still meet the required benchmarks and guidelines for use? Has technology advanced to the point where newer equipment performs better? If you do decide to replace your equipment, does that new equipment require additional supplies that would escalate the cost? Look at both sides when you conduct an analysis and answer questions like these to help you determine your decision.

When considering medical equipment repair, there are times when it may be impractical to use these services. Here are some reasons why it might be better to replace your equipment:

• When repairing your equipment disrupts your flow of patient care, it may be detrimental to seek out and wait for repairs.
• If you have a piece of medical equipment that continuously fails, a replacement piece may work better.
• When the cost for repairs sharply rises, it may be cost-prohibitive to choose the repair route.
• If replacement parts are no longer available for your line of equipment, you might want to just upgrade to a new unit.
• Your patients may expect the latest innovations in equipment technology. Purchase new equipment in this case.

Planning Is Important

It’s important that you know how long each piece of equipment will last. The average life expectancy will help you determine when you should be budgeting for a reliable replacement. In the years leading up to that point, it’s best to start collecting data that lists common repairs. This will also help ensure that your equipment meets safety standards when using it with patients. With this information, you can come up with a plan that tells you if you should replace older ventilators, defibrillators, infusion pumps and suction units or have them repaired by a certified technician from a company like Coast Biomedical Equipment.

Deciding to use a medical equipment repair company does take some planning and analysis, but it may be cost-beneficial if you decide to choose this option.