It might seem like common sense that Preventative Maintenance on AERs is critical, but many companies don't think about, take the time, or have the time to implement it. That's where companies like MedService Repair can help. We offer preventive maintenance services and maintenance kits to make this essential task as easy as possible for you no matter what brand of AER your office is currently using.

Automated Endoscope Reprocessers are used in the healthcare industry where gastroenterology and surgical departments perform endoscopic procedures regularly. AERs are critical to the cleaning, disinfecting and sterilization of endoscopes used in these procedures and need regular maintenance to operate properly. These essential AER maintenance practices ensure the consistent and reliable performance of not only the AER but the many specialty medical devices they clean often extending the service life of all of these medical devices. The importance of maintaining AERs via preventative maintenance services can not be overlooked or underestimated. There are just too many benefits ranging from improved patient safety and potentially great cost savings for the medical office as well.

Patient Safety

Ensuring patient safety is a primary goal when it comes to any medical procedure and the devices used to expedite, disinfect and make these procedures more efficient, effective and safe. AERs are not an exception to this. Because AERs clean and disinfect endoscopes that are used in invasive medical procedures any failure in the reprocessing systems can lead to compromised sterilization which could potentially cause infections in patients. Performing preventive maintenance ensures that your AER(s) are performing properly minimizing patient risk. Maintenance often allows you to identify issues prior to those issues becoming even bigger issues that put your patients at risk and could cost your medical office a great deal more than the maintenance costs.

Service Life of Equipment

A preventative maintenance schedule might help you office with lengthening the life of your medical devices. The schedule itself may depend on several factors including how often the equipment is used and arguably more importantly the manufacturer's recommendations. The minor issues that preventive maintenance may shed light on may extend the life of your AER by addressing these minor issues prior to them becoming major issues. Routine inspections, cleaning and replacement of worn or defective parts ensures these medical devices remain in excellent working condition. Not only does this extend the life of the equipment but it also may enhance the efficiency which might provide more reliable service for longer periods of time.

Downtime

The cost of downtime is exorbitant in the medical industry and can not be tolerated. Disruptions by equipment failure will typically lead to significant delays in patient care. These types of disruptions have a ripple effect that leads forces disruptions for the rest of the day, days or week. These ripple affects are even more disastrous if your calendar is jam packed as there is no openings in your schedule to get caught up.

Preventive Maintenance Service Provider Relationship

Having an ongoing relationship with a preventative maintenance service provider brings many advantages to any size medical office. Number one is the minimized likelihood of device failures of course. But just as important is the relationship you've established. First, you won't be scrambling to find a service repair center to call. You'll already know who to call and the quality of service they provide. Second, when you have an ongoing working relationship with a service provider, they already know what medical devices you're using and might have background on your entire in-house processes. This can lead to quick response times and repairs resulting in less down time as they already have a vested interest in your business. One might go so far as to say that their reputation depends on your medical office running smoothly with medical device interruptions.

Cost Savings

While some accountants may view the investment into preventative maintenance as purely an added expense, it actually has proven to be a cost-effective strategy to reduce expenses over time in multiple areas. It's easy to show that the up-front preventive maintenance costs are much lower than emergency major repair costs by looking into estimates for both. But at year end, if you've reduced or eliminated those major repair costs by doing preventative maintenance it's easy for an accounting executive watching expenses closely to miss the savings as there's no line item for them. It's critical that someone in charge fully understands the bullets that have been dodged with regards to major emergency repairs and minimized disruptions to your medical offices operational flow typically resulting in massive cost savings.

Regulation Compliance

There's no getting around it, the healthcare industry is heavily regulated. The guidelines, restrictions and standards for maintenance and infection control are stringent in most cases. Regulatory bodies like the FDA (Food and Drug Administration, CDC (Centers for Disease Control) have specific maintenance and operational requirements for AERs. Non-compliance is not an option for so many obvious reasons. The patients safety is always the first reason, but the penalties, legal liability and damage to a medical facility's reputation can be devastating. Working with the right service provider will assist in ensuring that your AERs meet all regulatory requirements.

Medical Office Culture

While it's not a line-item on a balance sheet, your staffs confidence and morale matters a great deal to your success. Your staff relies on the equipment you have invested in and provided for them to do the best job they're capable of. With the knowledge that your equipment is continually and properly maintained your staff's confidence in the treatments the perform is increased along with your office's overall reputation, performance and job satisfaction. This all translates into quality patient care which is what it's all about.

The bottom line is that preventive maintenance for automated endoscope reprocessors is a critical practice that results in many benefits. It enhances patient safety, ensures regulatory compliance, extends the life of your medical devices, boosts staff morale and confidence, reduces downtime and provides significant cost savings over time.

Preventative maintenance is not just a good idea, it's a critical strategy for success.