How Healthcare Equipment Can Work Better for You Today and Tomorrow
Managing a team of people doesn’t just require looking at their output. You need to see how they’re feeling, where they’re going, and how they can improve both as a person and a professional. In healthcare, the same goes for managing your equipment. It may be running smoothly today, but is it in the right place? Are you using it to the best of its ability? How can you make the most of it? This proactive, thoughtful approach is called asset management, and it’s critical to your operation.
Quite simply, asset management must be prioritized if you want to make your clinical team’s life easier and best serve the needs of your patient population. When Einstein said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions,” he emphasized that to solve a problem, you must first truly understand it. With asset management, that means fully comprehending the role equipment plays and the resulting impact that not tending to it will create.
Fortunately, long-term or advanced asset management is not an insurmountable task. It truly starts with assessing where you’re at, deciding where you want to go, and then making a plan for how you’re going to get there. If you’re currently overlooking equipment management or not giving it the attention it deserves, the following steps are an excellent way to get an asset management plan off the ground.
Start with an equipment inventory
The first step of any strategic exercise is to assess the current situation. That said, when it comes to assets, you’ll first want to take inventory of the equipment you have. Important considerations include the current age of the device, whether it’s mobile or fixed, and ultimately who is using it and how.
Don’t be surprised if you learn some equipment is not being completely leveraged. According to a study in the National Library of Medicine, 2 out of every 5 pieces of equipment are under-utilized.
If the initial step of taking an asset inventory is daunting, consider starting your journey by adding a Real-Time Location System (RTLS) to track your mobile assets. GE HealthCare’s solution Encompass™ is cost-effective and cloud-deployed. You can use it to track and manage medical equipment to minimize theft and the time spent searching for equipment when it’s needed. Sure, you’ll need to spend time deploying the solution, but once launched, it will simplify asset inventory and management in the future.
Once you’ve accounted for all of your assets, you’re ready to move on to the next step. Your equipment inventory will serve as the foundation for determining what you’re going to need going forward to best serve your patients.
Get a detailed picture of who your patients are
To determine which assets will best serve your patients, you have to have a clear picture of the people who will be using your facility. For example, if your patient population is older, you may need more cardiology or radiology equipment. If your population is younger, you may need more ultrasound equipment or equipment that supports labor and delivery.
The best way to hone in on your audience is to look at the per capita patient population data and pull out the key takeaways. Age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are all key factors that can affect the type of care you’ll need to provide.
Something else worth considering is how to be adaptable and versatile with your care. According to a 2024 investigation by the Journal of the American Medical Association, “By most measures, hospital inpatients have become more complex over time, including increased cases of multimorbidity and increased risk of unplanned readmission.” That means more patients admitted to your hospital will most likely need treatment for more than just one condition.
Another thing to assess regarding the patient population is where they are going and how they are evolving. To address this, dig into data that can reveal who is moving into the area and who is moving out. This can give you clues about the care you’ll need to deliver today and the care you’ll be delivering in the future.
Smart-fitting your facility
Armed with your equipment inventory and your patient data, you’re ready to consider what you’ll need to create the ideal workflow. For example, what equipment do you need the most for specific procedures?
Another workflow consideration pertains to logistics. Ask yourself if you’re best served with mobile or fixed equipment. It makes sense that 75% of equipment in hospitals is mobile. With mobile equipment, you can move equipment where it’s needed and when it’s needed, which can help maximize its utility.
Ultimately, the question that’s the most important to address is, what can you change or upgrade to make the biggest difference? Over time, asset inventories can grow to include devices that are rarely used or unsuitable for current applications. Hanging on to these devices typically isn’t in your best interest as they’re occupying space and money that could be allocated to more useful things.
At GE HealthCare, we call this apex of medical device planning, community care needs, and upskilling your care teams, “smart fitting.” Your goal is to right-size or smart-fit your asset inventory to accommodate patient demand, empower your clinicians, and minimize equipment downtime.
A difference between pleasant and stressful
If you’re still on the fence about the importance of proactive equipment management, consider this: If you’re not actively addressing equipment needs or taking into account equipment life cycles, you’re asking for random fire drills on any given work day.
Imagine your MR scanner going down on a day packed with appointments. This can cause unnecessary stress for your staff and an unpleasant experience for your patients. And the effects don’t stop there. Think of the financial component. Ignoring asset management and inviting unplanned downtime can seriously affect your bottom line.
Above all else, consider how planning today can positively affect your future. Proactively planning for the evolution of your equipment will help you serve your patients better and more efficiently for years to come.
GE HealthCare’s Medical Technology Advanced Services is here to help
You don’t need to be a tech expert or a service engineer to take on advanced asset management. Healthcare partners like GE HealthCare will work with you to walk through each part of the process. And whether you need a few insights or significant guidance, it makes no difference. Your asset management journey is unique to you and can be molded to fit your healthcare system and your level of expertise.
Next steps
If you feel you have the resources to embark on the journey of advanced asset management, now is the time to start. Armed with your current equipment inventory, your insights regarding your current and future patient population, and what your ideal workflow looks like, you’ll be able to make asset decisions that will support your current and long-term goals.
If you’d like some help getting started, simply contact your healthcare equipment partner. They’ll be excited to work with you to help build an advanced asset management program that right-sizes your equipment now and into the future.
