Although Princeton, N.J.-based Guerbet, LLC offers a comprehensive suite of imaging products, equipment service is never far from company executives’ minds. In this installment of Industry Insider, Thomas Ferrari, Guerbet’s Commercial Head of Service of North America, sits down with 24×7 Magazine to discuss how the company has evolved in recent years and why a hybrid service model is one he wholeheartedly endorses.

24×7 Magazine: Please tell us a little bit about Guerbet and the equipment you provide.

Thomas Ferrari: Guerbet is committed to offering health care professionals contrast agents, medical devices, and innovative solutions indispensable to diagnostic and interventional imaging to improve patients’ prognoses and their quality of life. Our equipment portfolio includes injectors, urology suites, contrast media warmers, and the associated consumable products.

Further, our commitment to our customers and the products they purchase from us includes a dedicated, industry-leading field service team, a full range of customizable service protection plans, 24/7/365 factory-direct technical support, and a full inventory of OEM parts. Specifically, our industry-experienced clinical applications team is available during training and serves as an ongoing support resource.

24×7: From a healthcare technology management perspective, what major changes have taken place in Guerbet Field Service lately?

Ferrari: Late in 2017, we moved from a third-party model to a hybrid model. As a result, we now have a core group of Guerbet-employed certified engineers and complement our efforts through the utilization of a third-party partner that has been factory-trained and certified.

24×7 Magazine: That’s very interesting. What are the key benefits of this hybrid model?

Ferrari: No one knows our equipment better than us. Our engineers complete a rigorous training curriculum at our Cincinnati manufacturing facility. Before they are permitted to service our equipment, they must successfully demonstrate competency by passing both written and hands-on assessments. Our third-party partner must also successfully complete the same factory-certified training requirements.

24×7 Magazine: How else does Guerbet invest in equipment service?

Ferrari: Aside from us offering 24/7/365 factory-direct technical support and flexible service protection plans, we take stringent measures to make sure our field engineering team meets all factory-certified training requirements. We strive to protect our customers’ investment by maintaining and repairing our equipment to meet manufacturer specifications. Plus, we only sell and install new, quality-controlled parts, which we guarantee when installed by a factory-trained engineer.

24×7 Magazine: Why is equipment service such a big focus for Guerbet?

Ferrari: It’s all about customer and patient satisfaction. Our equipment must perform as expected; otherwise, our customers cannot perform procedures for their patients. Our service team takes great pride in ensuring that our equipment is maintained to deliver peak performance. And on the rare occasion of our equipment needing repair, we take every measure possible to ensure the fastest uptime.

24×7: How has Guerbet evolved in the last few years and how do you expect it to evolve even more in the future?

Ferrari: We are fully committed to diagnostic and interventional imaging. We’ve evolved into a one-stop provider of products capable of satisfying the needs of customers in areas such as CT, MRI, interventional imaging, and cardiology. We continue to invest heavily in R&D, and we’re also entering into partnerships with other organizations to increase our portfolio of innovative solutions for our customers.