Choosing the Best Medical Equipment Suppliers
Medical Equipment is the first and foremost requirement of any healthcare facility. The kind of equipment required depends upon the kind of patients the healthcare facility is catering to. Many healthcare commodities are required on a regular basis like syringes, medical gloves etc. and some are required just once like X-Ray machines, Dental chairs etc. The responsibility of buying these supplies lies with the chief administrator in most smaller healthcare clinics. In a large facility or hospital, there is typically a person or department responsible for purchasing.
Those with little or no experience buying medical equipment and/or supplies need exercise caution in their purchase decisions, as one faulty piece may lead to the loss of the brand-value of the health care facility. Faulty equipment can also lead to lawsuits, and in extreme cases the loss of the institution, clinic or organization’s license to practice medicine (whatever the specialty of the organization) and/or bill private insurers and government-sponsored healthcare programs.
Reputation of the vendor and the quality of the products themselves should be foremost considerations when buying medical equipment and supplies. The quality of the products should be an utmost consideration for those purchasing on the behalf of a hospital or healthcare related-organization. This is especially for labs. Laboratory results are entirely dependent on the quality of equipment; a small defect in which can lead to a variation in the results, which in the worst-case-scenario can prove fatal to the patient being tested.
One way to help discern quality is to check for warranties and conditions for reimbursement. A quality manufacturer or vendor typically won’t shy away from backing their products with a firm warranty offering reimbursement of the purchase cost or a replacement product or part in the event of any defects. The absence of a warranty in and of itself should raise a red flag for anyone buying medical equipment and/or hospital/healthcare supplies.
Be sure that the dealer is in a position to provide support for all your needs on short notice, should the event arise in which you need something immediately at your facility. Make sure the after sale services from the dealer are on-par with industry benchmarks. The dealer must be able to provide you with trained and experienced technicians to assist with the management and maintenance of the equipment installed at your facility.
Most dealers who are committed to provide excellent services to their customers will go the extra mile if and when the need arises, including the replacement of individual parts and even the acquisition of custom products if necessary. Take notice of turnaround time when it comes to resolving any product or billing-related issues.
Dealers who have established themselves as brands will surely have a good volume of inventory in case the demand for any equipment increases abruptly. An online presence will surely add a feather to the cap.
The bottom line is to use your own existing contacts combined with a list of providers found online in order to assemble the best possible collection of medical equipment, device and supply vendors in order to assure that all your supply-chain needs are met while ensuring minimal liability for your own company relative to the quality of the products and/or services offered by your healthcare business.
