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268 Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology May/June 2013 Columns and Departments I am seeing a disturbing trend: Many hospi- tals are outsourcing all or part of their biomedical department. While I do not believe that this is a good idea in most cases, I will attempt to explain why I think this is happening. First, we must realize that most hospital administrators, directors, and C-Suite executive do not understand biomed, also called healthcare technology management (HTM). We are a different breed. We work with electricity, technology, and other complex matters that are not commonly understood. I think some administrators would rather sit through a two-hour Power- Point presentation than have a 10-minute conversation with a biomedical equipment technician (BMET). It’s also important to understand the core mission of hospitals— the provision of medical services. So their main functions are the recruitment of doctors, nurses, and patients, along with maintaining a facility to engage in patient care. Tasks such as biomedical repair can easily be outsourced to compa- nies that specialize in that sort of work. In short, these functions are seen as necessary, but not mission critical, and hospital administrators would rather have a contract and unburden themselves of the manage- ment of these services. Also, there is risk to consider. There is a perception that the financial risk to the hospital can be reduced if a blanket contract can be signed, shifting the responsibility for all medical equipment maintenance to somebody else. In reality, there is not much uncertainty in medical equipment mainte- nance. It fails with alarming predictability. Those few items that fail more often than normal are balanced by those that fail less frequently. Companies make lots of money from this perception of great risk, which is shifted to them. But the main reason that many hospitals outsource biomed is that the administration is unable to get the HTM department to respond to its needs. Many HTM departments refuse to move into more complex equipment. They are stuck working on old, simple, or low-risk equipment. They refuse to take ownership of advanced equipment, such as imaging modalities. Or they are not trusted by the hospital to work on the more mission-critical equipment. When administrators become frustrated OBSERVATIONS AND INSIGHTS Understanding Why Hospitals Outsource Biomed Services Patrick K. Lynch About the Author Patrick K. Lynch, CBET, CCE, is a biomedical support specialist at Global Medical Imaging in Charlotte, NC. E-mail: [email protected] But the main reason that many hospitals outsource biomed is that the administration is unable to get the HTM department to respond to its needs. © Copyright AAMI 2013. Single user license only. Copying, networking, and distribution prohibited.
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268 Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology May/June 2013
Columns and Departments
I am seeing a disturbing trend: Many hospi-tals are outsourcing all or part of their biomedical department. While I do not believe that this is a good idea in most cases, I will attempt to explain why I think this is happening.
First, we must realize that most hospital administrators, directors, and C-Suite executive do not understand biomed, also called healthcare technology management (HTM). We are a different breed. We work with electricity, technology, and other complex matters that are not commonly understood. I think some administrators would rather sit through a two-hour Power-Point presentation than have a 10-minute conversation with a biomedical equipment technician (BMET).
It’s also important to understand the core mission of hospitals—the provision of medical services. So their main functions are the recruitment of doctors, nurses, and patients, along with maintaining a facility to engage in patient care. Tasks such as biomedical repair can easily be outsourced to compa-nies that specialize in that sort of work. In short, these functions are seen as necessary, but not mission critical, and hospital
administrators would rather have a contract and unburden themselves of the manage-ment of these services.
Also, there is risk to consider. There is a perception that the financial risk to the hospital can be reduced if a blanket contract can be signed, shifting the responsibility for all medical equipment maintenance to somebody else. In reality, there is not much uncertainty in medical equipment mainte-nance. It fails with alarming predictability. Those few items that fail more often than normal are balanced by those that fail less frequently. Companies make lots of money from this perception of great risk, which is shifted to them.
But the main reason that many hospitals outsource biomed is that the administration is unable to get the HTM department to respond to its needs. Many HTM departments refuse to move into more complex equipment. They are stuck working on old,
simple, or low-risk equipment. They refuse to take ownership of advanced equipment, such as imaging modalities. Or they are not trusted by the hospital to work on the more mission-critical equipment.
When administrators become frustrated
OBSERVATIONS AND INSIGHTS
Understanding Why HospitalsOutsource Biomed Services
Patrick K. Lynch
About the Author
Patrick K. Lynch, CBET, CCE, is a biomedical support specialist at Global Medical Imaging in Charlotte, NC. E-mail: [email protected]
But the main reason that many hospitals outsource biomed is that the administration is unable to get the HTM department to respond to its needs.
© Copyright AAMI 2013. Single user license only. Copying, networking, and distribution prohibited.
269Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology May/June 2013
Columns and Departments
with the nonresponsiveness of their in-house department, they look for other options. Some replace the manager or director in hopes of creating a more responsive and dynamic department, but many are content to turn the repair functions over to a profes-sional medical equipment management company. They are able to wash their hands of the entire situation and simplify their lives by signing a single contract (and writing a single check) that turns the entire medical equipment maintenance operations over to someone else.
What they gain depends on what is written into the contract. If they contract for a manager to supervise hospital-employed staff, they may receive improved manage-ment systems, better reporting, and the implementation of some more efficient systems to manage the program.
If they contract to receive equipment maintenance using only the service company’s
employees (thereby eliminating all hospital employees), they receive a very specific service on a specified list of equipment.
Do they lose anything in the process? Probably. They also can expect to receive additional invoices as the hospital adds equipment or repair requests that are not the result of normal wear and tear. Operator error and physical damage and equipment relocation can result in more charges.
In summary, if the in-house HTM depart-ment is not responsive to the needs of the hospital, the administration will find some-one who can meet its needs. If an in-house department is outsourced, a large part of the responsibility (blame?) rests with the depart-ment and its leadership. n
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