Hospitals…the very word brings up the picture of a plethora of machines and medical equipment. Every hospital, whether small or big, needs a wide assortment of equipment. Thus, whatever the size of for diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, surgery, and post-care. If you wish to have a great reputation and an amazing client base, you will have to invest in the latest and most advanced medical equipment.

Medical equipment planning is of paramount significance as machinery accounts for at least a quarter proportion of the investment and contributes in a big way to the overall well-being management and patient experience. There are hundreds of types and models of healthcare equipment available in the market. There are scores of manufacturers and vendors who offer them with various schemes.

This may be confusing for first-time healthcare entrepreneurs and they may flounder while making the right choice that is best suited to their needs and budget. If you too are facing this, be sure to engage the services of a reliable healthcare consultancy firm to help you in the planning and procurement of medical equipment. This will be one less headache to be bothered about if you outsource it to the experts.

Ways in which a healthcare consultant can help you in planning and procurement of medical equipment

1.Need analysis

Many first-time healthcare entrepreneurs get tempted to invest in an array of equipment which are not frequently needed and utilized in their practice. This can pile up unwanted cost. A healthcare consultant can help you narrow down on the list of equipment that you really need specific to your core speciality.

2.Cost analysis

Medical equipment costs a mammoth amount.Different types of medical facilities need equipment of different specifications, accuracy, calibre and specialization. As a first-time entrepreneur, you have to invest in suitable medical equipment which will not become a white elephant for you. 

Do not go over the budget as each incremental cost can postpone your breakeven point and decrease the profitability of your project. A healthcare consultant can aid you in this by streamlining the right choice for you tailored to your needs, expected footfall and budget considerations and preventing you from burning a hole in your pocket. 

3. Space planning

The job does not end with procuring medical equipment. Your hospital space has to be planned for the installation. This is a tough proposition as equipment can be bulky and heavy. You have to ascertain that you make provision for the fitting of these space-consuming objects in your hospital’s layout blueprints itself.

A hospital consultant firm has expert healthcare architects and designers on their panel who can handle this task with ease. They will make provision for the electric circuits, water supply, plumbing outlets and coolant vents needed for this machinery too in the design so that all the wires stay concealed.

4. Special considerations

Some types of medical equipment require special storage conditions. E.g., an X-ray machine may require a radiation-proof room so that harmful rays do not escape to the surrounding and cause harm to life and the environment. A healthcare consultant can help you in taking take of these specialized features.

Other examples

1. Noise-cancelling material to drown the humming sound of machinery
2. Reinforced floors to house heavy machinery
3. Vibration-proof walls.

Healthcare consultants will have the experience of working in several similar projects and will be able to plan your needs perfectly.

5. Vendor selection

The same equipment may be available from many vendors. This may be confusing for you as a first-time investor. A healthcare consultant can help you sieve through the various options to pinpoint the one that suits you best in terms of cost, discount offered, installation and maintenance contract, warranty and guarantees, expertise, etc.

Since some types of medical equipment is indispensable and cannot be out of order even for a few hours, choose a vendor who can offer speedy and specialized repair facilities so that there is no interruption in the patient flow.

6. Quality assurance

When it concerns health, there should be no compromise on quality. The medical equipment that you choose should set a benchmark in quality. A healthcare consultancy firm can help you select the medical equipment with the best quality within your budget. They will also help you in conducting periodic quality assurance checks.

The operation of specialized medical equipment has to be done as per a strict protocol. A healthcare consultant will have the expertise and the know-how to train your technicians in the operation of these sensitive machines.

8. Maintaining records

A healthcare consultancy firm will keep logs of the bills, the maintenance schedules, the warranty and guarantee details, the guidance manuals and the mandatory safety regulations for a particular piece of machinery. This will reduce your burden of record-keeping.

9. Licensing

Some specialized machines require permissions and certifications from the government or local authorizing body before they can be operated. A healthcare consultancy firm can take care of this legwork for you. E.g., AERB certification for radiation equipment.

10. Maintenance timelines

Machinery requires periodic maintenance. A healthcare consultancy firm can schedule regular maintenance timelines for the whole array of your medical equipment using computer programs so that you do not miss out on any maintenance episodes.

11. Replacement and upgradation

In a rapidly evolving sphere like healthcare, technology becomes outdated at the blink of an eye. A healthcare consultancy firm can give you advice on when to upgrade or replace a particular item so that you do not compromise on quality of care. 

Thus, you can see that a healthcare consultant can provide 360-degree assistance at every phase of medical equipment planning and procurement. If you are looking for help in equipment planning, contact Hospertz, a leading hospital consultancy firm with more than 2 decades of experience in this field.

Blog has been written by Dr. Vishal Jadhav, a veteran in the field of hospital consultancy with a rich experience of more than 20 years and founder of the Healthcare  Consultancy. Firm, Hospertz.

Dr. Vishal Jadhav, Director
hospertz@gmail.com
+91 9867712705/ 9820833149