The U.S. Congress is focusing on the quality and safety standards of all medical device suppliers and service providers, not just the OEMs. How do you know your medical equipment rentals are safe and patient ready?
Ensuring Access to Quality Medical Equipment Rentals is Becoming More Important than Ever Before
A bill called “Ensuring Patient Safety through Accountable Medical Device Servicing,” is currently being debated in Congress. The focus of the proposed legislation is on establishing consistent quality and safety standards to all entities that supply and service medical equipment.
There is disagreement over which statistics are most credible. But there is clear evidence indicating that many hospitals end up subjecting patients to unnecessary risks by exposing them to ventilators, infusion pumps and other movable medical equipment (MME) that fail to meet high quality and safety criteria. Backers of the legislation believe some third-party rental providers and equipment maintenance companies are regularly falling short of the rigid standards imposed on OEMs, as detailed in ISO 13485. Opponents of the bill say the cost of holding third parties to higher quality standards — such as training and certification — will contribute to escalating health care costs.
The fact that this bill is even in Congress indicates that the inconsistent quality standards pose a significant problem for hospitals. The mission statement for almost every hospital in the US focuses on ensuring exceptional clinical outcomes and delivering quality patient experiences.
Does Your Rental Provider Follow the OEM Instructions and Preventive Maintenance Schedule for All the Equipment it Provides?
Poorly performing equipment goes against the very nature of hospital leaders and clinical staff. There is also the problem of reputation. One patient incident related to malfunctioning equipment can significantly damage a hospital’s brand and reputation.
In our experience, most hospital staff are unaware that rental providers and third-party repair services are not held to the same high quality and safety standards as OEMs. Hospitals never “choose” poor quality — it takes them by surprise. To help ensure your hospital avoids the consequences of poor MME quality, read our tip sheet entitled, “Critical Questions Surrounding Rental Equipment In Your Hospital.”
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