When it comes to managing equipment service contracts, one easy and often overlooked way to control costs is to make sure you know that you are getting what you pay for. Too often hospitals may not utilize their coverage to minimize costs, and don’t have good documentation from their service providers about what services – including routine preventive maintenance included in contracts – has or has not been completed. Get it in writing to eliminate this risk and get the most value from contracts.
Require a signed field service report for any work completed by your service providers. Doing so ensures that you have a record of what was done, and peace of mind that you are getting what you paid for.
Requiring written service reports can help reduce potential misunderstandings between your hospital and your equipment service providers. This can also help keep relationships with service providers strong while making sure you get what you expect – and are paying for – from them. When there are additional costs (for example, for service performed outside of the contracted covered hours), good documentation of service performed can minimize budget surprises and make reconciling service costs and billing easier.
