New report shows that early intervention and better technician support—along with AI—drive better outcomes in medical device service.
By Alyx Arnett
Aquant, an artificial intelligence (AI) company for service professionals, released its 2025 Medical Device Service Benchmark Report, which analyzed nearly 9 million service events across the medical device industry—and the results point to a clear divide between top- and bottom-performing service teams.
Top performers are seeing lower costs, faster resolution times, and longer intervals between service visits. Their advantage? A shift away from reactive service models in favor of earlier intervention, better-equipped technicians, and targeted support strategies. The report highlights AI as a critical enabler, while also showing that operational strategies—like earlier intervention and technician support—are key to delivering measurable improvements.
Key findings from the report include:
- First Time Fix Rate: Top organizations resolve over 80% of service issues on the first visit. Bottom performers average between 51% and 65%, depending on the segment.
- Time Between Service Visits: Leading teams extend this metric to 149 days, while bottom-tier organizations average just 29 days—indicating stronger maintenance execution.
- PM Effectiveness: Nearly 1 in 4 preventative maintenance visits at low-performing companies result in a follow-up within three months, highlighting missed issues or incomplete servicing.
- Repeat Parts Replacement: High rates of “parts shotgunning”—or repeat parts replacements—continue to inflate costs and increase downtime, especially among teams without access to equipment-specific insights.
AI and the Shift Left Strategy
To overcome persistent service challenges—such as repeat part replacements, ineffective preventative maintenance, and widening gaps in technician expertise—many medical device organizations are adopting smarter, more proactive approaches, according to the report.
Rather than relying solely on reactive break-fix models, leading teams are emphasizing earlier intervention and better technician support throughout the service journey.
One strategy gaining traction is Shift Left, which focuses on addressing issues earlier—before they escalate into larger problems. This includes enabling frontline staff with self-service tools, offering remote diagnostic support, or equipping technicians with the right training and information upfront. These efforts help reduce unnecessary dispatches, minimize downtime, and prevent avoidable escalations, according to the report.
AI is also helping service teams operate more efficiently. AI-powered platforms provide technicians with real-time access to equipment histories, repair trends, and service manuals—supporting faster, more accurate troubleshooting. In addition to improving preventative maintenance, AI can reduce parts waste by guiding technicians to the correct fix, helping to avoid costly “parts shotgunning,” the report finds.
Organizations leveraging AI report:
- 39% faster resolution times
- 121% higher troubleshooting accuracy
- Up to $1.1 million in annual savings from modest increases in remote resolutions
Together—but not exclusively—Shift Left and AI are helping medical device service teams improve first-time fix rates, reduce repeat service visits, and bridge the widening gap between increasingly complex equipment and uneven technician experience, according to Aquant’s report.
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