GE HealthCare and reLink Medical have partnered to provide healthcare providers with asset management solutions, aiming to reduce medical device waste, improve operational efficiency, and optimize equipment utilization through a standardized disposition process for surplus medical equipment, which may involve selling, recycling, or donating it.
Each year, healthcare providers retire approximately 10% of their medical assets from use. Attempting to manage medical device waste independently can often require staff time and create cumbersome processes filled with hidden costs. As providers continue to face cost pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic, managing budgets and uncovering cost savings is a priority.
“A potential and often overlooked source of expense for providers is medical device waste, which includes aging, or end-of-life, medical devices that sit idle in a healthcare provider’s inventory,” says Mohamed El-Demerdash, president of U.S. and Canada service at GE HealthCare. “With this collaboration, GE HealthCare will help healthcare providers manage their clinical devices for the full lifecycle of their equipment, a true wing-to-wing solution, from capital planning and purchasing to maintenance and final disposition of the equipment.”
When medical equipment is sold, a percentage of the revenue is returned to the healthcare provider as credits. These credits can be used for various purposes, including equipment purchases, technician training, and On-Demand services, or they can be redeemed via a wire transfer or check from reLink Medical.
Sustainability is an important consideration for the management of end-of-life equipment. More than 6 million pounds of medical waste are kept out of landfills each year through reLink Medical’s processes. This collaboration between GE HealthCare and reLink Medical is aimed at supporting healthcare providers in disposing medical equipment in a safe, compliant and environmentally responsible manner and it further advances GE HealthCare and reLink Medical’s commitment to sustainability.
Efficiency Gains Through Managing Equipment Surplus
In addition to managing the disposition of end-of-life medical devices, as part of this collaboration GE HealthCare and reLink Medical can transport equipment for redeployment between clinical sites and provide long-term storage of equipment for healthcare providers at offsite locations through a smart warehouse solution.
This solution will manage logistics to simplify pick up of medical devices from a healthcare provider’s site and catalog every device so providers have a clear understanding of where their assets are located, helping to ensure they have the medical equipment they need without bearing the burden of storing and managing surplus inventory.
“This collaboration signifies a significant step forward in revolutionizing asset management solutions and empowering healthcare organizations with the tools and technologies needed to optimize their equipment utilization,” says Jeff Dalton, CEO, reLink Medical. “It leverages reLink Medical’s expertise in equipment disposition, surplus management and inventory optimization to complement GE HealthCare’s comprehensive suite of healthcare solutions.”
