Regardless of who is servicing patient care medical devices in your hospital, you have an obligation to assure that all corrective maintenance, planned maintenance and operational testing is performed to the highest possible standards. This is increasingly true as hospitals respond to increased pressure to reduce costs by entering into more agreements with third party servicers. One way to assure that third party servicers meet your standards is to develop policies that list criteria that they must submit prior to entering into any service agreement.
Some of the standards that hospitals should consider requiring of third party servicers are listed below:
- Qualifications of Servicing Personnel – Third party servicers must assure that all service personnel are qualified by providing the names and qualifications of each person who will be servicing the involved equipment. Qualifications should include evidence of factory training or a suitable alternative.
- Parts – They should guarantee that they will only use repair parts that they procure directly from authorized second sources or from the manufacturer.
- Test Equipment – They must show evidence of access to the appropriate test equipment as outlined in the manufacturer’s test and calibration procedures. They must also demonstrate that test equipment is routinely calibrated and meets all applicable state and regulatory requirements.
- Reports – Third party servicers should show the type of written service reports they will provide. Reports should itemize all costs including travel time, labor time and a list of all parts used, including prices. Also, in an effort to centralize all service records into your CMMS, third party servicers should agree to use your hospital’s equipment numbering system on service reports to identify each device that they service.
- Maintenance Procedures – Provide written copies of the planned maintenance, testing and calibration procedures for the involved equipment to assure conformance to manufacturer, state and regulatory standards.
- Access to Service Manuals, Recalls and Updates – They should show evidence that they have access to device service manuals, product recalls, factory required field upgrades and relevant incident and safety issues.
- Conflict of Interest – In conjunction with providing a list of the key officers in their company, they should list the names of any employees of your hospital who may directly or indirectly hold a financial or material interest in the company.
- Number of years in Business – Provide a statement of the number of years the company has been in business.
- Evidence of Insurance – Since they will be providing service on patient oriented equipment, any errors they make could result in serious patient harm. Therefore, it is important that they show evidence of liability insurance. Your hospital’s risk management department can best determine the amount of insurance that is appropriate for your organization
It is not sufficient for hospitals to engage third service organizations just because they offer low prices. Hospitals must also insist that these organizations demonstrate that their personnel have been adequately trained and that they have access to quality replacement parts. They also must show that they are financially responsible and have access to all information relevant to the products that they service. Without requiring this type of information, we cannot assure our patients that all medical devices used for their care will operate reliably and safely.
