Sponsored by Innovatus Imaging
By Ted Lucidi, CBET
Over the past few years, we’ve noticed a few trends increasing in the HTM industry. One trend is that HTM departments (or asset management organizations) are covering the expenses associated with the repair of a device, but if the device is damaged beyond repair, the replacement/exchange cost is passed along to the owning department. Another trend is that HTM departments (or asset management organizations) are covering repairs associated with normal wear and tear as well as electronic and mechanical failures, but if the root cause of the device’s failure is due to preventable damage — trauma, negligence or misuse — the cost is passed along to the owning department.
The majority of the devices supported by HTM departments are truly repairable. Exceptions might be devices that have reached end-of-life, those for which quality parts supplies have diminished, and those which are not serviced by independent service organizations (ISOs). Another segment might include devices such as flexible endoscopes, highly specialized surgical equipment and ultrasound probes which may contain “proprietary parts.” Looking at ultrasound probes, the connector, pin-bank, wiring harness, cable sheathing, strain reliefs and lens may be repairable. The acoustic array or “crystals” might be considered a proprietary component and, if damaged, might result in the probe being a total loss. With devices such as flexible endoscopes, the CCD camera would be comparable.
You may be surprised to learn that OEMs do not sell replacement parts to individuals, especially ISOs. With catastrophic failures, such as those to the acoustic array or a CCD camera, there are only a few options available. Many times, there is no repair solution, and HTM departments need to rely on an exchange model — whether through Innovatus, another ISO or the OEM. HTM departments are charged with maintaining equipment uptime and doing so in a cost-effective manner. Does maintaining uptime include replacing devices damaged beyond repair, or just repairing devices able to be serviced? There is no right or wrong answer, but there sure are a lot of opinions.
I believe that we’d all agree that no one (or in my experience, only a very select few impatient individuals) would purposely throw out or negligently damage a medical device. Yes, I’ve seen it happen. Depending upon your service philosophy, you may believe that HTM departments should cover all of the service costs associated with the devices they support. Or you may believe that clinical departments should be responsible for the proper care and handling of their clinical devices and share in the financial burden if a device is dropped. There’s no right or wrong answer yet health care costs keep increasing and preventable damage could be considered a contributor. Forcing clinical departments to absorb the cost of preventable damage is just one of many ways to potentially affect behavior, but there are others such as awareness, prevention, controls, training, re-training and, yes, re-training.
Innovatus is a trusted service partner for not only several OEMs, but also some major asset management organizations as well as other ISOs. As such, we’re asked to classify the failures on the devices we repair. After repairing over 180,000 ultrasound probes and 40,000 MRI coils, to say we’ve seen it all is an understatement. Let’s look at some scenarios.
What if, a device should undergo X, Y, and Z as part of its normal usage cycle, but the users are only performing X and Y. If the device fails because Z should have been done, whose fault is it? Does it matter who’s at fault? And should the clinical department have to pay for the device’s repair? Again, no right or wrong answer.
What if, a device should be cleaned or disinfected using THIS, but the department is using THAT (which is not approved by the OEM). Should the clinical department be responsible for the repairs to the device that has failed prematurely? Should the burden be on Infection Control, which may have instructed the clinical department to use the cleaner, despite it not being approved? Valid questions. Again, there is no correct answer.
Here’s a very common scenario. The seal surrounding the acoustic lens (rubber membrane) on an ultrasound probe will wear and degrade over time. This is similar to periodically having to replace worn tires or brake pads on your car. The root cause of replacing the lens or the seal would be considered part of normal wear.
We all understand the potential risks of not replacing tires or brake pads. Not addressing an open seal on an ultrasound probe in a timely manner can result in gel, chemical disinfectants and other contaminants entering the probe and inducing major failures. The root cause has now changed from normal wear to preventable damage, and the cost of repair has risen from a few hundred dollars to several thousand … or more.
Facts
After being in the HTM industry and supporting diagnostic ultrasound for over 30 years, I can confidently say that most failures related to ultrasound probes have a root cause of preventable damage. Another observation that’s not much of a surprise, is that sonographers, echo techs and other end-users really do share HTM’s goal in minimizing failure rates, maximizing device life cycle and conserving costs. I’ve found that once end-users understand the tell-tell signs of wear and tear, how prevention can minimize failure severity, and partner with HTM to address wearable items, that failures due to preventable damage decline.
Good news
No matter if your organization or department fully covers all support costs or chooses to pass costs associated with probe replacements and preventable damage onto clinical departments, Innovatus can help. Innovatus has full repair capabilities and the ability to replace the acoustic array on about 100 probe models. By repairing more and replacing less, HTM departments can realize significant savings while extending probe life cycle. Innovatus can develop and present custom webinars and Lunch & Learn sessions for your clinical staff to raise awareness of preventable damage and how partnering with HTM teams can significantly reduce failure severity and support costs. Let us know how we can help you and your teams.
We encourage readers to download our visual inspection guide for standard probes on the Resources tab of our website – innovatusimaging.com. The guide is also available in hardcopy on heavy stock, upon request, which is ideal for posting. We’d also invite you to have us host a quick webinar for your end-users where we’d talk live and provide a live demonstration on visual inspections. Let us help you lower your bottom line and increase the life cycle of your ultrasound investment.
For more information or to arrange for a live demo or webinar, reach out to TedL@innovatusimaging.com
Ted Lucidi, CBET, is the director of commercial operations and business analytics at Innovatus Imaging.
