Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 17 | Page 75

INDUSTRY WATCH FOR MOST HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS, A LACK OF FUNDING PREVENTS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LATEST AND GREATEST EQUIPMENT. T he healthcare industry is never far from the latest innovation or technological advancement. However, for most hospitals and medical institutions, a lack of funding prevents the implementation of the latest and greatest equipment – with old equipment often being sweated until it’s no longer fit for purpose. This results in high maintenance costs, inefficiency and ultimately, inadequate patient care. Doctors and hospital bosses want to ensure their patient care is unsurpassed and likewise, patients yearn for the confidence that they’ll receive the best care and a swift recovery. The facts of the matter are that today, hospitals are being placed under greater demand than they were 10 years ago, despite having less resources in terms of money, staff and equipment. It’s not only medical equipment that can aid the quality of care and improve operational efficiency, but also the Digital Transformation as a whole. Due to modern technological advancements, we now (as both a consumer and a patient) are expecting a much better customer experience than we were previously used to, whether it be in a retail environment or a healthcare environment. The healthcare sector hasn’t yet seen the levels of digital disruption that we have seen within the retail environment per se. Sure, we’ve seen a rise in electronic prescribing and electronic health records, but these are only taking the current form of something and simply transferring them into an electronic version of the same. Within the healthcare sector, there www.intelligentcio.com Andrew Hockenhull, Global Healthcare Business Development Manager – Healthcare Technologies at CHG-MERIDIAN remains a significant possibility for the transformation of processes. The procurement and management of healthcare technology has a lot of room for transformation and as such, a Managed Equipment Service (MES) is a model we’ve seen become more popular in recent years. Typically, a hospital’s route to market was either a capital purchase or leasing. With regards to leasing, the options were generally either through the frameworks or direct with the manufacturers. However, these two routes only provide hospitals with access to financing options. What hospitals really require is access to a complete equipment management solution that can ensure INTELLIGENTCIO 75