Article
How asset management technology can help you spend more time on patient care
A hospital's number one priority is to provide the best possible care for patients, but many medical staff find themselves spending precious time they could be giving to their patients on tedious tasks like searching for essential medical equipment.
While hospitals would never intentionally put patients at risk, this is crucial time staff are having to manually search for assets rather than being able to concentrate on doing their jobs and it has the potential to cost hospitals financially, operationally and puts reputations on the line.
Hospitals have hundreds of assets to keep inventory of, from medical equipment to furniture and buildings, they form a key component of delivery services to the community both for staff and patients. The inability to be able to locate critical medical equipment whether for an emergency, regular use or maintenance, can have far-reaching and serious consequences like delayed or cancelled procedures, increased costs from having to purchase new equipment, reduced staff productivity, wasted resources and legal implications if a patient’s health is impacted. In the absence of the right tools to ensure proper asset management, medical professionals struggle to provide patients with the care they need quickly and efficiently.
Track mission-critical equipment
Asset management software, like TechnologyOne’s Enterprise Asset Management, helps hospitals to ensure the availability of required medical equipment while optimising its utilisation and reducing the cost of replacing, leasing and over-purchasing. It plays a crucial role in ensuring hospitals can fulfill their duties in providing high-quality care to patients by enabling staff to be able to locate assets when needed and ensure that core equipment is regularly maintained, tested and kept in reliable operational order.
Due to the high cost of medical equipment and technology, hospitals need to ensure assets are used efficiently and effectively. Asset management is a highly systematic, cost-effective process that can be employed to manage physical assets, including infrastructure, equipment, and facilities. This is particularly helpful for hospital staff to keep track of where assets are located, when they were last used, and how they are being used.
Support a preventative approach for better patient outcomes
Medical equipment aids in diagnosis, treatment, and aftercare, ensuring that assets are functioning correctly is critical to being able to give the highest level of patient care. From simple equipment like blood pressure monitors to complex MRI scanners, this equipment requires planned, preventative and reactive maintenance.
Global ERP company TechnologyOne’s Sales Director for Health and Community Services, Vanessa Devine, noted that patient care outcomes are the top priority for hospitals and their staff, and the need to keep up-to-date, quality equipment to deliver the best care possible is imperative.
“TechnologyOne’s asset management software enables hospitals to track and analyse asset usage and performance, so they can make informed decisions about when to replace equipment, repair it, or invest in new assets. This helps to reduce downtime, maximise the lifespan of equipment, and ensure that it is properly maintained and repaired, helping to improve the overall quality of care that patients receive,” she said.
Asset management also helps to improve the efficiency of maintenance and repair processes in hospitals by providing a centralised and standardised system for tracking work orders and schedules, as well as the status of repairs and maintenance activities. This means that hospitals can ensure that work is being performed on time and that equipment is properly maintained.
In such a high-risk industry, hospitals are subject to several regulations and standards, including those related to medical equipment and facilities, that need to be followed to ensure the best patient care. Asset management software provides hospitals with a centralised system for tracking and reporting on compliance, which helps to ensure that they are meeting all required standards.
Utilising asset management software enables hospitals to spend more time delivering quality patient care and less time managing multiple data systems.
TechnologyOne’s Enterprise Asset Management solution enables hospitals to focus on better health outcomes for patients, reduce operating costs and wastage, and manage compliance through improved visibility, accuracy, and efficiency.