Why Preventative Maintenance Is Essential For Medical Equipment

Meta description: Preventive maintenance of medical equipment can reduce costs, improve safety, and give doctors peace of mind.

Unsplash – CC0 License

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 this post, we explore some of the reasons why preventative maintenance is essential for medical equipment.

It Generates Significant Financial Savings

In U.S. hospitals, it costs more than $200 billion to buy medical devices every year. Some hospitals are purchasing new medical equipment. But in most cases, they are simply replacing older items that they have. But most of the time, they are just buying new 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 should perform to specification all year round. 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.

Medical establishments have experienced numerous equipment and device failures in the past. Medtronic’s MiniMed insulin pumps had to be recalled, as well as Edwards Lifesciences’ measuring devices, due to leaks in the power supplies that caused them to be disabled. 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 why it would be advantageous to have regular preventive maintenance performed on medical equipment. If they have the right equipment, doctors will see seven to eight thousand people per day. But if they knew when to schedule scheduled maintenance work on their equipment, they’d be able to see even more patients.

When equipment is properly maintained, doctors are able to access and use it more liberally. 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.

When medical equipment doesn’t perform satisfactorily, it can actually lower productivity. Queues begin forming in waiting rooms, physicians can’t clear backlogs, and medics wind up working longer hours. Queues start to form in waiting rooms, doctors aren’t able to clear backlogs, and nurses work longer hours.

The good news is that fitting equipment maintenance into your schedule is easy. Companies such as Preventive Maintenance Medical Inc. (PM Medical) are easy to work with because they provide maintenance plans that meet the manufacturers’ standards and allow you to keep on top of your maintenance needs. 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 And just like anyone, it irritates them when medical equipment doesn’t work the way it should. 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. To get more information about preventive maintenance for your medical equipment, visit PM Medical’s website today!