Medical and healthcare equipment are pivotal to the setting of a fully functional hospital in India. These account for the capital investment of every hospital and making the correct procurement decision can help offer a higher standard of patient care and reduce costs over time.
This article substantiates the essential parameters to be considered while setting up a hospital in India. It illustrates the significant factors to be noted while deciding to purchase medical equipment for a hospital.
Types of Medical Equipment
Essentially, Medical equipment for a new facility can fall under the following categories:
Diagnostic hospital equipment - comprising primarily examination, laboratory testing, imaging, and vital sign monitoring equipment. As per Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules 2004, the AERB - Atomic Energy Regulatory Board has issued certain guidelines and licenses for medical facilities that have medical diagnostic x-ray equipment. While larger hospitals are able to invest in their own Diagnostic department, smaller clinics might opt to outsource this service to a third party.
Hospital procedural equipment - As the name suggests, includes all equipment such as surgical appliances, sterilization equipment, suction machines, and related equipment, that is required by the hospital to provide care to the patient. The majority of the investment might happen in this category and can also dictate the pricing for procedures as well as long-term maintenance investments.
Hospital treatment equipment - This equipment encompasses all the devices required to restore health, fight off infection, and treat the patient. These can include I.V. delivery systems, pulmonary and cardiac support, and nutritional delivery systems.
Patient care needs equipment - While these are not directly related to the treatment of the patient and their medical condition, can have a major impact on the patient experience. These include items that offer comfort to the patient, aftercare support, etc.
Consumables & Supplies -These include all the recurring expenses towards disposable/reusable items that are required across procedures and for the running of the hospitals. Timeline delivery, stock-keeping, and inventory tracking are pivotal to ensuring that the medical facility does not run into any issues that can impact the customer experience and delivery of patient care.
How to Plan Medical Equipment for a Hospital Set Up?
Planning medical equipment for a hospital is a multiple-step procedure to ensure the quality and durability of the products. The ultimate objective of this preplanning account is the proper implementation, budgeting, procuring, delivering, and commissioning of each piece of medical equipment as per the government standards.
The step-by-step process of planning medical equipment for a hospital step is as follows:
Assessing Medical Equipment Requirement
First and Foremost, every hospital at its pre-implementation stage needs to assess what equipment they would require in their medical facility. This depends on the type of facility, the services that are being offered, the number of beds, location, etc. For instance, a cardiac institute must have surgical products essential for conducting cardiac surgeries, penetrating stents, and by-pass operations.
Thus, the hospital owners need to prepare a realistic and feasible summary of the different equipment requirements of their hospital.
If you are renovating an existing facility, it would be beneficial to
Evaluate the usefulness of your current equipment
Relocate your medical equipment depending on the layout of your new facility
Develop a list of equipment that need to be eventually procured, to bridge the gap
Examine Regulations and Protocols
Post the assessment of medical equipment; examine the rules and regulations governing your medical care facility. This includes
Local building codes
Central, state, and district legislature protocols (depending upon the location of the hospital)
IMC and industry standards as per requirements
Follow this step sensibly to prevent facing regulatory issues in future
Technical Comparison of products
Medical equipment is a highly competitive market, with a number of brands offering multiple products with varying technical specifications. With so many variables, it is important to get a brand-independent, third-party perspective on the best product to purchase, considering a number of factors - technical requirements, servicing capabilities, price, warranty, etc.
ZEPNURhealth can assist with this entire process. We have strategic partnerships with several leading Indian and International manufacturers across medical and dental specialties. Moreover, with a team of trained biomedical engineers, we can help you navigate through these multiple options, arrange for product demos, assist with price negotiations, and facilitate servicing and repairs for equipment after installation.
Budgeting
Before proceeding to place an order for the procurement of medical equipment, it is essentially necessary for hospital owners to budget their expenses. For this, the owners must consult their medical staff to gather proper information from the various stakeholders involved.
Moreover, the owners may also conduct interviews and form architectural reviews for a better understanding of the budget and allocation of the same for different medical needs.
Space and Development
For example, hospitals facilitating radiology services should fulfill essential architectural requirements. Additionally, such medical set-up must comprise dedicated x-ray machines, e-license of radiation appliances, approval of the directorate of radiation safety for the conduction of radioactive therapy in their premises.
For this, the hospital owners must plan their space allocation prior to placing an order. To perform this step judiciously, you should:
Consult your design and architect team for suitable ideas and work on the medical equipment placement accordingly.
Allocate effective spaces for different needs including bedding in general and emergency wards, helpdesk, cupboards for surgical tools and pharmaceuticals, etc. Seek advice from healthcare personnel for commissioning a fantastic hospital setup.
AMC and CMC Services
The hospital owners must consider AMC (Annual Medical Contract) and CMC (Comprehensive Maintenance Contract) with a trustworthy service provider while placing the order of their medical equipment.
AMC and CMC services ensure the warranty of the medical instruments and prescribe predetermined conditions of their refurbishing and repair. Over here, the owner must discuss the number of repairs and maintenance charges each year (free or paid) and the validity of the medical warranty on each instrument.
Thus, the purchaser must make sure that the procured instruments are in the best condition followed by the availability of AMC and CMC services involved with them.
Incorporate Suitable Departments
Before placing your order, hold a meeting with the different departments of your hospital and seek their suggestions. This will allow you to cover the different aspects of a hospital setup and expand the horizon of your procurement needs. The important personnel comprising this inter-departmental meeting should be:
The respective head of the departments
Biomedical engineers
Procurement engineers
Other service staff and technicians
Moreover, each department must come up with technical ideas pertaining to their requirements, servicing capabilities, and cost implications to be incurred with the eventual procurement of medical equipment.
Procurement of Medical Equipment
The hospital owners finally approach a suitable and affordable company for their procurement needs. Every owner plans to procure at the lowest cost keeping in mind their priorities and preferences.
ZEPNURhealth is an all-time solution for easy and comfortable procurement of medical equipment at affordable and inexpensive prices. Visit https://zepnurhealth.com/ to accomplish your requirements of medical equipment.
Delivery and Logistics
Finally, the owners have to collect their delivery from the lowest bidder and examine each product minutely. Further to this, coordinate with your architects, installers, designers, etc. to place this equipment at appropriate positions and evaluate their functionality.
Thorough Inspection before Ownership Transfer
Last but not least; scrutinize thoroughly and effectively before the ownership transfer of medical equipment. At this terminal step, let your biomedical staff and engineering team test the equipment and its proper functioning.
In case of any discrepancy, approach your procurement service company at the earliest and clarify all errors.
In other words, only after testing the medical equipment you must give your final affirmation and release the payment.
Altogether, the entire procedure for medical planning requires patience and deliberate working towards each step very carefully. Hospital owners should follow these steps without any bias towards any of the departments in order to ensure the quality of their procured machines.
Browse ZEPNURhealth’s web pages to procure medical and healthcare equipment for your new hospital setup. We promise to furnish customized quotes and ensure the timely delivery of your instruments in India.
We wish you good luck with your new hospital.
Read these articles for more hospital set-up related information:
How to set up a hospital in India- A guide in 2020 - https://www.blog.zepnurhealth.com/post/how-to-set-up-a-hospital-in-india-a-beginner-s-guide-in-2020
How much does it really cost to set up a hospital in India - https://www.blog.zepnurhealth.com/post/the-pecuniary-plan-how-much-does-it-really-cost-to-set-up-a-hospital-in-india
Licenses and Permits Required to set up a Hospital in India https://www.blog.zepnurhealth.com/post/licenses-and-permits-required-to-open-a-hospital-in-india
Important points to consider when buying medical equipment for your healthcare facility https://www.blog.zepnurhealth.com/post/important-points-to-consider-when-buying-medical-equipment-for-your-healthcare-facility
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