The dangers and liabilities of not having your equipment serviced by trained technicians.
By Richard Woods, CBET
During my career, I’ve visited several hundred clinics, surgery centers, nursing homes, and hospitals. Most have been established clients of whichever company I worked for at the time; however, a few have been first-time visits, either a new facility or one that had previously used another healthcare technology management (HTM) company.
One facility bothers me to this day. It was a small rural clinic, with less than 30 assets distributed across a lab, treatment room, nurses’ station, and a few exam rooms. I arrived on location, introduced myself, and asked where I could set up and begin work. Before I could unpack my tool kit, the clinic manager rushed in and asked how long it would take. This was a busy clinic, and the staff wanted me out of their way ASAP. When I said two to three hours, I was asked, “Why so long? We just need the equipment stickered. It never took the other guy more than an hour!”
“This being our first visit,” I explained, “each device has to be inspected, perform electrical safety testing, functionality verified, and equipment information such as model and serial number recorded.”
Their response was not at all what I expected. “That’s not necessary. Everything is working fine. Just get the stickers up to date.”
To their dismay, I went ahead and performed the service my company was hired to do. Every device was inspected, cleaned within reason, correct operation verified, data collected for entry into our computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), and only then did I remove the layers of stickers plastered on by the previous company and apply an up-to-date PM sticker.
In this clinic, I found the AED had dead batteries. If I’d done as the clinic manager wished, and later the AED was needed and a patient died, who do you think would be responsible? The company whose name was on the PM sticker and, ultimately, the technician who performed the inspection. None of us ever wants to be in that situation, either as the patient needing defibrillation or the person hauled into court and prosecuted for being responsible for their death.
Quality Over Convenience
Unfortunately, there are always going to be individuals and companies who cut corners. Either out of apathy of the technician or the company’s desire to be the low bidder and get more business. Additionally, there are customers (hopefully few and far between) who don’t care and just want to “have their equipment stickered.” Without shadowing every step of the HTM tech, how do you know if the work required is actually being performed? The best solution is to hire a reputable, established company—which is rarely the least expensive option.
The company I am now with, ReNew Biomedical, has a high standard for the personnel we hire and the service we perform. Initially our techs work in-house in our depot, with their work inspected by senior staff. If deemed suitable, they’re allowed to represent ReNew in the field. Even then, they pair with a senior technician before they’re sent out on their own.
Our techs are encouraged to obtain some level of Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation certification, which the company pays for. In-house and vendor training is also constantly available. We use a CMMS that is exclusively for medical devices and accessible by the customer and any inspecting agency.
If you’re looking for a quick, cheap annual inspection of your medical devices, there are “sticker companies” out there that would be happy to stack their sticker on top of the rest. The old adage “good work is rarely cheap, and cheap work is rarely good” is especially true in the HTM business.
About the author: Richard Woods has been in HTM since 2003, most recently with ReNew Biomedical where he helped create its Training Academy, which produced the first graduate of the DOL/AAMI HTM Apprenticeship program. Before joining ReNew, he worked as an in-house biomed at Jackson/Madison County General Hospital, then as in-house and field service for Horizon Biomedical, Crothall, and Agiliti. Prior to his biomed career, he was an electronics tech with Texas Instruments for over 20 years.
