Although capital equipment procurement is a critical aspect of new construction, this function often falls into no-man's land. Clients believe it's the responsibility of the architectural and design team, while A&D teams consider this the client's prerogative. What usually happens is that equipment vendors pick up the slack.
The problem of a piecemeal approach is that each vendor operates independently, and the lack of foresight usually leads to alterations, design changes and unplanned expenses. Due to the complex nature of medical equipment, their requirements in terms of space, power and ergonomics need to be considered upfront. An effective solution to this problem is to bring onboard an experienced equipment planner to work with the A&D team to ensure that the medical equipment's infrastructural requirements are properly considered before designs are finalized.
Procurement Tips to Consider
The space, electrical, and cooling requirements of specialized healthcare equipment varies depending on the type, volume and applications of use. Important considerations may be:
Planned patient types and volumes
- Physical size of the equipment
- Ergonomics
- Provision of utility rooms
- EHR Connectivity
Equipment support and maintenance
- Physical - air handling and energy requirements
- Supplies needed
- Calibration and adjustment requirements
- Maintenance and repair frequency
An early evaluation of alternative solutions means that their impact on the building layout can be properly considered.
Ideally, the medical equipment planner is engaged at the conceptual stage when initial ideas are being discussed by administrators, the medical staff, architects and space planners. A cooperative team approach is much better than an adversarial approach of forcing suppliers to compete on price in a process that ignores the potential long-term costs of these decisions.
Using an Experienced Medical Equipment Planner and Distributor
A prudent medical equipment planner engages the services of an experienced healthcare equipment distribution company with expert knowledge of capital equipment procurement to provide meaningful advice, guidance and support for the project in several ways. Such as:
Assisting with the conceptual evaluation of the facility
- Assessing equipment requirements
- Providing advice on equipment selection and pertinent accessories
- Obtaining best pricing of the selected equipment
- Managing the procurement processes and logistics
Supervising equipment delivery and installation
Healthcare Equipment Procurement with CME
CME has been operating for more than 30 years. An established healthcare equipment specialist, we focus on providing capital equipment procurement services to hospitals and healthcare facilities.
Apart from standard procurement services, CME specializes in a personalized direct-to-site turnkey solution. This service includes initial equipment planning, selection, ordering, tracking and inspection and setup. Clear advantages include:
One point of contact
- Reduced number and cost of PO's
- Avoidance of equipment loss and damage
- Coordinated assembly and direct-to-site delivery
- Supply of the right products at the best cost
Installation and biomedical support
To find out more about CME’s nationwide service, contact us here.
About CME: CME Corp is the nation’s premier source for healthcare equipment, turnkey logistics, and biomedical services, representing 2 million+ products from more than 2,000 manufacturers.
With two corporate offices and 35+ service centers, our mission is to help healthcare facilities nationwide reduce the cost of the equipment they purchase, make their equipment specification, delivery, installation, and maintenance processes more efficient, and help them seamlessly launch, renovate and expand on schedule.
