Over the length of my HTM career, which now spans into its 31st year –where has the time gone. I have heard and seen many HTM service models and “best practices” that on paper sound great though when presented to the clinical customer – depending on their interest and open mind can tend to “crash and burn”.
The most important and common ingredient needed in any conceptual HTM medical device service plan is the understanding of their clinical customers patient care delivery expectation. Understanding what it means to the clinical customer’s business and their patients “satisfaction” when the medical device is “out of clinical use” for 30 or 60 minutes or perhaps several hours. Understanding as well the clinical customer’s business impact when the “revenue generating medical device” is out of service and what it means to the financial operation. It always seems that much of the emphasis applied by HTM service professionals in creating medical device service plans tends to be around “saving money” on cancelling a service contract or the decision as to buying parts or vendor service at the cheapest price! What is not commonly factored in is the clinical operation the medical device service plan will be supporting and the impact it may have both positive and negative in assuring quality performance and maximizing clinical uptime.
Yes, it may sound like I am beating up and picking on HTM groups as to how they may be developing their specific medical device service plans. The truth of it is – I am. I hear and listen to both sides – those who are the “HTM service providers” and their “clinical recipients of HTM service. Many times the interaction between the two groups is nothing more than a “square peg – round hole” with both sides frustrated and leery of the other. My advice – HTM service professionals please assure you are using the “right peg” to fit the clinical customer’s “hole”. You’ll be more successful!
