PRODUCTS & SERVICES
information in determining the root causes of healthcare incidents.”
Jatin Thakkar, General Manager, Global Services and Solutions, Carestream, echoes Singh by emphasizing equipment experience and knowledge.
“All staff are directly
trained and supported by the OEM,” Thakkar indi- cated. “Staff has highest level of expertise on the entire portfolio with a total knowledge of the overall production design and functionality. They have access to all levels of support – engineer- ing and manufacturing for unique issues or escalations – and to genuine and certifi ed parts and accessories to keep equipment running optimally.” These attributes grant OEMs something of an advantage, according to Lynn Salmon, Director of Hardware Sales, Tecsys Inc. “OEMs are masters of their domain,” Salmon noted. “As builders of the devices, they possess unmatched from-the-source expertise and know them inside and out. This inher- ent wealth of product infor- mation should give you every confi dence that they can provide expert guidance on troubleshooting and support for virtually any repair.
Jatin Thakkar Lynn Salmon “Similarly, they are likely to have certi-
fi ed service technicians who are equipped with suitable specialized tools and autho- rized parts and equipment,” she continued. “OEMs also tend to maintain extremely high standards for their own products as it is a direct refl ection of their brand. As a result, you can reasonably expect a sophis- ticated support infrastructure with quick response times. It is also not uncommon to fi nd OEMs that offer favorable warran- ties as part of their value proposition and as a means to maintain a relationship for future sales. Their incentive to provide cost-effective service through a product’s lifecycle may very well be mutually bene- fi cial. This is compounded by the common practice of offering contract rebates on any outstanding balance to be applied to new devices, providing more fl exibility in your upgrade cycle.
“Finally, OEMs often have device-commis- sioning services, which help organizations confi gure, test and deploy equipment more effi ciently and consistently according to the exacting standards of your selected manu- facturer,” Salmon added. Healthcare Purchasing News reached out
to ISO sources for comment, but none responded at press time.
The International Association of Medical Equipment Remarketers and Servicers (IAMERS) is a trade association that rep- resents resellers and servicers of used med- ical imaging equipment that promotes “the safe and successful roles of independent sell- ers and servicers,” according to its website. IAMERS refers to the FDA’s 2018 Report on Safety and Effectiveness of Servicing Medical Devices, “the objective evidence indicates that many OEMs and third-party entities provide high quality, safe, and effective servicing of medical devices” and that “the continued availability of third-party enti- ties to service and repair medical devices is critical to the functioning of the U.S. health- care system.” IAMERS works to “ensure healthcare pro-
viders have choices” and that “independent service providers are committed to ‘best practices’ for patient safety.” The Repair Association, a group that doesn’t specialize in healthcare, offers a more blunt and sacrosanct philosophy via its web site message: “You bought it, you should own it. Period. You should have the right to use it, modify it, and repair it wherever, whenever, and however you want. We fi ght for your right to fi x.”
Convenience clouds decisions Company executives who responded to HPN acknowledge that providers may experience hurdles when working with OEMs for main- tenance and repair services. Most notably, “the challenges of OEM ser- vice and repair contracts are purported to be higher costs,” Olympus’ Singh indicated. Carestream’s Thakkar points to the possi- bility that the OEM may not offer coverage in a specifi c location or area. Tecsys’ Salmon highlights a variety of preference and workfl ow issues. “Not all OEMs prioritize maintenance and repair, favoring instead to sell a new piece of equipment,” she noted. “This is especially true of older or discontinued technology that may have a lot of functional life left in it since supporting multiple generations of tech drags on margin. Because of this, it is possi- ble that OEMs are not well set up to provide maintenance services, leading to longer lead times on replacement parts, which may result in longer repair timelines. It is also possible that out-of-warranty service from OEMs may not be the most cost-effective option.” Salmon also homes in on customer supply chain operations.
“Another consideration is your device
mix and service contract management,” she said. “If most of your equipment and devices are from a small pool of OEMs, jug- gling a few repair service contracts is simple enough. However, if you have a miscellany of devices from several manufacturers, it
may be operationally more complex to work with each OEM over having a third-party service provider that can handle multiple brands and products simultaneously.” But ISOs can offer benefi ts under certain caveats, according to Thakkar. “[ISOs] may be able to support equip- ment from multiple OEMs and can provide a similar level of support if they are trained and certifi ed by the OEM(s),” he said. “That could present some cost savings if they have the ability to bundle equipment from multiple OEMs.”
However, ISOs present several key chal- lenges, Thakkar added. “Typically, they don’t have access to all
levels of specifi c training and/or documen- tation from OEMs,” he observed. “They also don’t work exclusively on OEM equipment so their expertise may be lacking on unique issues. They might still need secondary sup- port from the OEM on complex items and may not be up to speed on the latest features, software and capabilities.” Singh uses clinical reasoning to justify selecting the OEM over an ISO. “Healthcare providers must consider the
potential costs to patients well-being and the overall health system when medical technol- ogies malfunction because the device was inadequately repaired or serviced by an ISO or the ISO uses materials that have not been proven to work according to specifi ca- tions and have not been tested for material compatibility with approved methods for cleaning and disinfection,” he said. Thakkar also recognizes the appeal of healthcare organizations relying on their internal biomedical/clinical engineering professionals for device and equipment maintenance and repair.
“They are internal staff so they’re generally more accessible and their capacity can be fl exed based on needs,” he indicated. But he cautions about their expertise. “Since they have infrequent contact with equipment, they typically are not the experts on any OEM equipment,” he noted. “They may not be up to date on all current solu- tions, releases, etc., and may fi nd it diffi cult to maintain regular training and certifi ca- tions on all equipment.”
Legislative response
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting supply chain disruptions that hampered access to products, interest in the “right-to-repair” movement and legislation at the federal and state levels continues to percolate. Back in 2021, a New York fed- eral legislator on the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced H.R. 4006 – Fair Repair Act – for discussion. Essentially, “right-to-repair” proponents call for ISOs to be granted access to OEM
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