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Patient satisfaction is a top priority for healthcare providers, but it’s not just up to doctors and nurses to deliver a positive visit. Nearly every aspect of a patient’s experience determines satisfaction, from the quality of care they receive, all the way to facility design and layout.
Medical equipment planners are challenged with needing to create a comfortable environment that minimizes environmental stressors while balancing:
By translating these considerations into the selection and placement of the medical equipment, an equipment planner can facilitate a supportive environment and efficient workflow. Here are six ways a medical equipment planner can contribute to patient satisfaction.
During the design phases of a project, the medical equipment planner — in close partnership with the clinicians, architects and patient experience teams — contributes to designing workflows for the facility by constantly asking the questions:
Keeping these questions at the forefront ensures a final design that best accommodates the specific patient needs for that facility. For instance, a workflow may be enhanced by adding a satellite lab next to a chemotherapy area so patients don’t have to travel to the other end of the building to reach the lab after a treatment. Even ensuring that clocks and trash cans are conveniently placed can improve patient experience. A medical equipment planner can spot these scenarios and make recommendations throughout the project.
A deep understanding of how a clinician flows through a visit can also guide the equipment planner to where equipment should be placed within a room, or where items need to be hung on a wall. For instance, a patient will remember if the lighting is too bright and overpowering, or if their visitor was constantly bumped by the door because there wasn’t enough space for a guest chair.
Equipment downtime quickly translates to delays in patient care (not to mention potential lost revenue for the hospital). An equipment planner who stays up to date on FDA recalls and monitors the performance of various medical equipment manufacturers can advise against equipment models that are more susceptible to downtime.
When patients enter a new or renovated healthcare facility, they expect the facility — and all the items in it — to feel shiny and new. Cosmetically refurbishing existing equipment can make beds feel brand new, or take the scratches out of an MRI machine, and deliver a modern and fresh patient experience — within budget.
Refurbishing equipment offers benefits that go more than skin deep as well, including:
Standards provide a variety of benefits that translate directly to continuity and consistency in patient care. Healthcare workers can provide the highest level of care when their environment and equipment is predictable.
By standardizing medical equipment, a clinician can effortlessly move from room to room, and floor to floor — and keep their focus on the patients. Standards also minimize equipment downtime by ensuring the biomedical engineering team has parts on hand for maintenance and is already trained on the equipment make and model.
Did you know: Attainia makes creating and leveraging standards easy. Customizable room templates provide equipment planners with an actionable way to organize the equipment their organization’s stakeholders want in their buildings and rooms. These templates can be generic (including manufacturer and model number) or specific (including exact contract pricing, a quote, or specific vendor) as an organization needs them to be.
Medical equipment manufacturers are constantly releasing product innovations that help deliver a state-of-the-art experience for patients. In fact, the latest generations of equipment are even able to integrate data from patients’ fitness watches and other wearables.
An equipment planner can identify new technologies and evaluate if new devices will interface with existing systems and equipment. Planners can leverage online equipment catalogs to stay on top of the latest advancements entering the market and complete cost-benefit analyses to identify the right time to purchase.
While clinicians may request the top-of-the-line model of a device, an equipment planner can assess a variety of equipment options to ensure the right level of technology (and investment) is specified. The patient experience team is typically looking for inexpensive ways to add a comforting touch for patients, so guiding clinicians to specify a less-expensive (but functionally appropriate) device could free up budget for other important purchases.
Did you know: Attainia’s industry-leading medical equipment catalog gives planners an easy way to drive conversations regarding equipment selection. Quickly access technical documents, spec sheets, MEP data, and pricing for more than 70,000 products via a search in the Attainia catalog, and you’ll be able to compare equipment models and make budget-appropriate decisions.
Medical equipment planning is about more than facility layouts and securing the best pricing on equipment — it plays a direct role in the patient experience. Making purchasing decisions that take this holistic approach is critical to improving patient satisfaction.
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