PartsSource’s inaugural HTM report reveals data-driven strategies to help healthcare technology management professionals tackle workforce shortages, supply chain disruptions, and rising costs.
By Alyx Arnett
As hospitals struggle with workforce shortages, rising costs, and persistent supply chain disruptions, a new industry report offers data-driven solutions to help healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals navigate these challenges.
PartsSource’s inaugural State of Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) Insights Report analyzes data from more than 5,000 hospitals across the US, uncovering key trends in equipment management, labor shortages, and cost-saving opportunities.
According to Nicole Koharik, MA, APR, head of corporate brand and communications at PartsSource, the company sees the report as “a new opportunity to create value for our customers and the industry, beyond our solutions across parts, services, and training.” She notes that HTM teams are operating under mounting pressures and resource constraints, all while being asked to “do more with less.”
The report draws from proprietary purchasing, quality, backorder, and inflation data, as well as insights from HTM leaders and industry experts, to assess the operational and financial pressures impacting medical equipment management. Koharik says the findings underscore “the critical need for data-driven strategies to navigate an increasingly complex landscape.”
Top Challenges Facing HTM Teams Today
Labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and tightening budgets are just some of the major hurdles HTM professionals are up against, according to the report. Topping the list is concern over an aging workforce and a shortage of emerging leaders, with job growth outpacing the number of new graduates entering the field. Leaders also cited difficulty influencing internal stakeholders and access to training as top concerns.
Supply chain issues also remain on the radar. The report’s Backorder Index found that the open order percentage for medical equipment parts spiked five-fold post-pandemic and has yet to return to pre-2020 levels.
This prolonged backlog reinforces the need for proactive procurement strategies, according to Koharik, such as purchasing parts before they are urgently needed and considering alternative suppliers beyond original equipment manufacturers.
Cost-Saving Strategies in HTM
Based on interviews with HTM leaders, the report identified strategies organizations are implementing to optimize resources, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. These include:
- Bringing More Repairs In-House: HTM teams are shifting service responsibilities from external providers to in-house staff to reduce costs and response times. Training a technician for $6,000, for example, can replace recurring $1,500 service calls, making it a cost-effective long-term strategy.
- Strategic Cost Optimization: Organizations are requiring objective data—such as service history and parts availability—before approving equipment replacements to maximize asset lifespan.
- Smarter Sourcing and Inventory Management: Providers are using historical data to forecast parts needs, stock critical components in advance, explore lower-cost alternatives to OEM parts, and implement forward stocking models to ensure mission-critical availability.
- Optimizing Service Contracts: Hospitals are consolidating service contracts to reduce costs and administrative burden, addressing inefficiencies highlighted by the report’s finding of 519 unique prices for the same medical equipment model.
Service Contract Pricing Disparities
One of the report’s more surprising findings was the high variability in service contract pricing for the same medical equipment model across different hospitals.
“Our analysis found 519 unique service contract prices for the same model of medical equipment, which means that some hospitals are paying significantly more—or less—than their peers for identical services,” says Chris Langmeyer, CBET, CHTM, program director, strategic partnerships, at PartsSource. “That level of variation suggests that many healthcare providers may be overpaying simply due to a lack of industry-wide cost transparency.”
Five Data-Driven Opportunities for HTM Leaders
As HTM teams navigate challenges, PartsSource’s report identifies five key opportunities for leveraging data to reduce costs and improve clinical availability:
- Tracking Inflation for Budget Planning: With medical equipment part prices rising 4.6% in 2024, staying updated on inflation trends allows hospitals to adjust budgets proactively and anticipate cost increases.
- Optimizing Cost and Quality for Parts: HTM leaders are evaluating quality return rates (QRR) for part alternatives to balance cost savings with performance. Some healthcare systems have saved up to 50% on select parts with minimal impact on QRR.
- Optimizing Cost and Quality for Service: Choosing service providers based on response time, uptime, contract flexibility, and end-of-life support can help lower costs while maintaining equipment performance.
- Translating Availability Trends to Impact: Monitoring backorder trends and stocking preventive maintenance parts two to three months in advance ensures operational continuity and mitigates shortages.
- Reducing Complexity and Cost in Equipment Service: Hospitals managing an average of 146 service contracts are streamlining agreements and bringing low-risk, low-cost services in-house using benchmarked data for cost-effective decision-making.
While many HTM professionals recognize the value of data-driven decision-making, Langmeyer notes that reactions to the data after publishing the report and presenting the findings at industry events “have shined a light on the strong role biases and assumptions play in decision-making.” He says, “While many HTM professionals believe in the value of data-driven decision-making, many also admit to defaulting to what they have always done.”
This, he says, highlights the importance of the use of data to inform purchasing decisions as a significant opportunity for improvement.
“The State of HTM Insights Report makes it clear: HTM leaders can no longer afford to rely on the status quo,” Langmeyer says. “The traditional approach—reacting to equipment failures, selecting external partners without data-driven criteria, and making decisions based on historical habits—is no longer sustainable in today’s healthcare environment. Instead, HTM leaders can help their organizations transition to a data-driven, evidence-based, and technology-enabled model that prioritizes efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and proactive decision-making.”
ID 356988850 | Ai © Justlight | Dreamstime.com
