By Phil Burnette
Vice President, National Account Sales
Technical Transportation, Inc

In hospitals, seconds can mean the difference between life and death, and downtime is not an option.

But as medical facilities depend more and more on complex equipment and machines to provide timely patient evaluation, testing and diagnosis, they run a higher risk of downtime that can cause major disruptions.

The fact is, machines break, and when they do, positive patient outcomes hang in the balance. That’s why hospitals need a logistics provider that can respond to their needs at a moment’s notice and get them, and their patients, back on the road to recovery.

One solution is a critical parts program that can procure and manage a parts storage location that is near and convenient to the hospital. This place would house spare replacement parts, special sub-assemblies, hardware kits or critical tools for deployment and use at the moment they’re needed.

But more important than simply having these parts and tools nearby, is having knowledgeable, trained field service engineers (FSEs) who can respond quickly, efficiently and effectively. Think of it as emergency care for MRI, C-ARM, X-Ray and other vital equipment.

And not just any supply chain provider will work. You need a hospital logistics partner with the following characteristics:

• Reliability—Your hospital helps patients 24/7, and you need a partner that will answer your call on any day, at any time, including weekends and holidays. You need someone that you can depend to do the right thing at the right time.
• Responsibility—You need a single-source provider that can handle all of the moving parts and can deploy FSEs that know your industry, your hospital and the equipment in your facility. They must have the skills to quickly and expertly repair and maintain your products—no matter how complex the equipment.
• Proximity—Your partner must have the local reach to assist you in minutes, not hours or days. If they’re a national provider, then you need to be sure that they can help you procure and manage your critical parts program near any and all of your locations.
• Urgency—The partner must understand your needs, as well as the needs of your patients. You need someone who will not only answer the phone 24/7, but one that won’t slack on the job or loiter. The true partner will work as fast as possible until the job is done and your equipment is back up and running.

If you’re in need of a hospital logistics partner, or simply have questions, feel free to click here and contact us today.