Illustration of a healthcare professional standing at a reception desk with a computer and a clipboard.
Illustration of a healthcare professional standing at a reception desk with a computer and a clipboard.

The healthcare industry is one of the largest industries in the world, projected to generate a massive $4.41 trillion in 2025. [1] However, since it deals with patients, the stakes are extremely high, which makes it all the more important to better manage assets and records.

It may sound like a very difficult task, especially considering there are so many factors to keep track of: equipment in the doctor’s office, research labs, and employee and patient records, but this is where Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software saves the day. In this post, we’ll take a look at EAM and its value for the healthcare industry.

What is EAM in Healthcare?

Before talking specifically about the healthcare industry, let’s cover what EAM in general is. Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) is a system (it largely relies on utilizing software) that helps you manage everything you own. This includes all the physical assets within the possession of your company, such as equipment, machines, and facilities, throughout their entire lifecycle.

Now, in the context of the healthcare industry, this could include medical devices like ventilators, infusion pumps, imaging machines, and even facility assets like HVAC systems and emergency generators. Instead of having every record scattered around, EAM organizes everything into a centralized place that shows you exactly where your assets are, the condition they are in, and if and when they need some maintenance.

With access to software like this, your company can make sure that equipment stays in good shape, runs efficiently, and doesn’t break down unexpectedly. Moreover, since healthcare is one of the most regulated industries, EAM software keeps a record of maintenance logs and certifications to help meet standards set by regulatory bodies.

Why EAM Matters for Healthcare Providers

Healthcare enterprise asset management is a big deal for a number of key reasons. Imagine a hospital where an MRI machine breaks down right when it’s needed, or a ventilator stops working in an ICU. That simply cannot happen. 

Let’s break it down further to understand why it matters so much:

  1. Keeps Patients Safe

Imagine an oxygen tank not being available when it’s needed the most. For a hospital, the staff, the patient, and their family, this is a nightmare situation. We’re no longer talking about an inconvenience; this is a matter of life and death for the patient. EAM helps prevent these nightmare scenarios from becoming a reality by scheduling regular maintenance, tracking the condition of equipment, and catching small issues before they snowball into bigger problems.

This is also a major relief for the hospital staff. The highly complex machines used by the staff are important for their day-to-day work, but they need to trust them as well. If equipment isn’t maintained well, and if data is not accessible in real-time, they will not be able to make calculated decisions. With EAM, they can rest assured about equipment accuracy and provide uninterrupted care to the patient.

  1. Helps Meet Compliance Requirements

The healthcare industry has to deal with heavy regulations, and rightly so. It must adhere to strict safety standards set by regulatory bodies like the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the U.S. or the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) in the UK.

Besides, with patient records increasingly being stored digitally, compliance with data protection laws is critical. In the U.S., the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets strict rules for securing patient health information (PHI). Similarly, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to healthcare providers handling the data of EU citizens. The inability to meet these standards can lead to a major loss of reputation and even the revocation of the license to operate.

Healthcare enterprise asset management systems keep track of these strict rules and regulations and maintain detailed records of everything, including maintenance schedules, inspection reports, and certifications. So, when the time for audits finally arrives, the individual responsible doesn’t have to scramble for paperwork and can present the data without hassle.

  1. Saves Money

The U.S. spends more on healthcare than any other nation, with costs nearing approximately 18% of the gross domestic product (GDP). It is fantastic for a nation to spend money toward the betterment of healthcare. However, the sheer amount wasted is equally massive. The estimated waste in the U.S. healthcare system ranges from $760 billion to $935 billion, making up about 25% of total healthcare spending. [2]

Despite this, budgets are tight, and the equipment used in healthcare is not cheap by any means. This means fixing costs even more and can only be done by highly trained, niche technicians.

With the help of EAM, a hospital can focus on preventive maintenance rather than reactive maintenance. For example, replacing a worn-out part on a CT scanner during routine servicing is much cheaper than dealing with a full breakdown. Also, by tracking how often equipment is used, determining when and if it needs service or replacement becomes easier.

  1. Achieving Efficiency

Time is precious in every industry, but especially in healthcare. Every second counts. Think about how much time gets wasted hunting down equipment or managing repairs manually. This can delay treatment, impact patient care, and harm the overall reputation of the hospital. With an EAM, keeping track of equipment, everything from who’s using it, when it needs servicing, and what condition it’s in, becomes possible.

How EAM Enhances Equipment Lifespan and Efficiency

Healthcare enterprise asset management systems can help your company prolong its lifespan and improve the efficiency of the equipment you work with. This gives you an advantage, as machines used within healthcare settings are highly complex, not easily repairable, and costly.

Making sure equipment works well within the healthcare industry goes beyond mere business advantages. Here’s how it helps improve equipment lifespan and efficiency:

  1. Preventive Maintenance Scheduling

Most companies rely on reactive maintenance rather than preventive or predictive maintenance (more on predictive maintenance in the point below). With the help of an EAM system, you can schedule regular maintenance for the upkeep of your equipment based on the manufacturer’s recommendations and historical records.

Equipment failure is a nightmare situation and cannot be afforded. So, in this way, issues are identified and addressed before they lead to serious consequences. Naturally, maintaining a machine on a proper schedule and following the given recommendations leads to extending the asset’s lifespan.

  1. Predictive Analytics

A step ahead of preventive maintenance is predictive maintenance. Advanced healthcare enterprise asset management systems like our CMMS+, LLumin, can provide predictive analytics and forecast potential equipment failures using data gathered from sensors, IoT devices, and historical records. Discover the key CMMS features your organization needs.

Knowing that equipment is about to break down is extremely valuable, as it allows for timely interventions, reduces unplanned downtime, and improves operational efficiency. Moreover, you can plan maintenance activities during scheduled downtime to avoid disruptions.

  1. Inventory and Spare Parts Management

With all this talk about maintenance, let’s discuss the value of effective management of spare parts and inventory for timely maintenance. After all, it’s hard to perform maintenance if the spare parts aren’t available when needed.

EAM systems track inventory levels and usage rates and notify the responsible team when it’s time to reorder parts. This makes sure that parts are available when needed, preventing delays in maintenance activities. This, too, is part of the proactive approach we talked about above.

  1. Asset Lifecycle Management

Asset lifecycle management is absolutely important for any industry. If you’re wondering, asset lifecycle management means the proper management of an asset, from its acquisition to its disposal.

With the help of healthcare enterprise asset management systems, your company can effectively manage assets, as they allow for the maintenance of detailed digital records for each asset’s history. This includes everything from maintenance activities to repairs and replacements. It allows you to make better decisions about asset utilization and replacement, optimizing both lifespan and efficiency.

Taking this “comprehensive” approach is necessary for assets to be used to their fullest potential, be replaced at the right time, and get a healthy ROI.

  1. Asset Performance Monitoring

An extension of the point we made above about ROIs: in order to achieve a healthy ROI, continuous monitoring of these assets and their performance is required. This is made easier by EAM systems, which carry the capability to track key performance indicators (KPIs), such as utilization rates, energy consumption, and operational hours.

It helps you figure out the assets that are underperforming and identify areas for improvement, leading to better resource utilization and performance in the long run.

Implementing EAM: Best Practices for Healthcare

EAM systems play a key role in optimizing operations, reducing costs, and enhancing patient safety. However, successful EAM implementation requires a well-defined strategy and careful execution. Here’s how you can adopt top asset management practices for sustainable growth:

  1. Defining Objectives and Scope

Step one of the implementation process is to clearly define the objectives and scope. What is the goal here? Is it meeting regulatory and compliance requirements, minimizing downtime, or reducing maintenance costs?

Your company needs to identify the challenges beforehand. From there, based on these challenges, it becomes possible to set clear, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. Work SMART, not hard.

It must also involve all stakeholders during this process, such as the maintenance team, IT staff, etc. It’s important to create a sense of ownership towards the system and the equipment, which makes the adoption process much easier.

  1. Process Standardization and Training

Two things just cannot be neglected for successfully implementing EAM: training and process standardization. Training is quite obvious. Employees, such as clinical staff and technicians, should be trained in all aspects of the system, including but not limited to data entry and work order management. Without it, reporting will be subpar and unreliable.

On the other hand, standardization is required to make sure all procedures are documented clearly, such as scheduling, work orders, and inventory levels. Before going live, it’s best to do a trial run or a phased implementation, refining the process as things move along before going full-scale.

  1. Continuous Monitoring, Feedback, and Improvement

EAM implementation is an ongoing process. Even after implementation, healthcare companies must regularly review key performance indicators, such as equipment downtime, maintenance costs, and mean time to repair (MTTR), to assess the system’s effectiveness.

As we all know, technology is always improving, so it’s best to stay updated on the latest trends and practices in the market to maintain efficiency. Perform regular audits, gather user feedback to identify areas for improvement, and adjust processes as required to maximize the benefits of the EAM.

What to Look for in EAM Software for Healthcare

Without the right EAM system, the advantages cannot be reaped to their fullest extent. The choice you make will define a lot of things. However, considering there are a number of options available, selecting the right one becomes quite a challenge. To make the process a little easier, here are the key considerations:

  • Compliance and Security: Given the sensitive nature of healthcare data and the complexity of machines, the EAM system must comply with regulations like HIPAA and have the latest data security measures in place.
  • User-Friendly Interface and Dashboard: Even the most feature-rich and advanced EAM system is useless if it isn’t user-friendly. Not everybody is a techie, and neither should the healthcare staff be required to spend countless hours trying to understand how a program works. Ideally, the right EAM system should have a simple, intuitive, and even customizable interface.
  • Vendor Support: Things can go wrong, so it is important to opt for a system with an active vendor that is willing to provide reliable and responsive technical support to address any issues that may arise.
  • Reporting and Analytics: The program should have reporting and analytics capabilities for things like tracking key performance indicators, identifying any trends and patterns in equipment performance, and optimizing maintenance schedules.
  • Integration Capabilities: It’s important for the EAM software to work well with existing healthcare systems like Electronic Health Records (EHR), Hospital Information Systems (HIS), Laboratory Information Systems (LIS), and billing systems. The software should be flexible enough to connect with other tools and easily adapt as new technologies are constantly being introduced. 
  • Scalability: As your company grows, so do your assets and records. The system should have the capability to accommodate the company’s growth without compromising performance.
  • Mobile Access: It isn’t viable for a solution to be only accessible via a specific device now, and healthcare workers aren’t always present at their desks, nor would that be possible. They need instant access to relevant information. Mobile accessibility allows healthcare staff to access asset information and perform tasks on the go. 

When selecting EAM software, consider these features and any specific needs or requirements your company may have.

Make LLumin Your EAM System

A screenshot of LLumin’s asset management page.

LLumin’s computerized maintenance management system (CMMS+) solution includes everything we’ve covered so far. This solution can help your healthcare company manage assets properly.

It’s the only solution in its category that stores your business rules and policies, complies with regulations, and uses its machine learning and AI abilities to:

  • Makes use of preventative and predictive maintenance to make sure maintenance activities are carried out timely, and smaller issues are addressed before they become a big problem.
  • Makes accessing information and records a breeze. Nobody likes paperwork, especially when it’s done on actual paper. With LLumin, you can have records and certificates stored digitally. It creates detailed reports using the data it collects and presents them on easy-to-access dashboards.
  • Sends out alerts when maintenance is due or missed or if the inventory is running low. Yes, it also manages inventory.
  • Uses the strongest security measures in the industry to protect your company’s data and provides features like access control so information is accessed only by authorized personnel.
  • Automates various tasks so the staff spends minimal time on the software and more time assisting patients.

To learn more about LLumin’s CMMS+, schedule a demo with us today.

Closing Thoughts

The healthcare industry can and absolutely should not take any risks when it comes to asset management. Doing so has the potential to cause irrecoverable damage to the lives of individuals as well as the company as a whole. By using an EAM solution like LLumin, your company will have its equipment ready to perform its job as and when needed, with maintenance scheduled and little to no downtime.

FAQs

What is the role of EAM in managing healthcare equipment lifecycles?

EAM plays a very important role as it manages the entire lifecycle of equipment, from the moment it is acquired to when it needs to be disposed of. EAM tracks its usage, maintenance schedules, and performance over time, and schedules maintenance accordingly. This ensures that repairs and replacements are done timely, so the equipment runs at its peak for longer durations. This not only extends the lifespan of expensive medical equipment but also reduces the risk of breakdowns and downtimes, both of which are unaffordable in the healthcare industry.

How does EAM improve patient safety in hospitals?

When a patient visits a hospital, it’s already a stressful time in their life. Imagine them hearing that one of the machines is needed for their care or that of someone close to them. It isn’t working. There simply is no room for failure. A hospital cannot afford to use equipment that might jeopardize patient care. With healthcare enterprise asset management, hospitals can track equipment performance and any safety issues that may arise, making sure everything is always ready to go. This is a constant process that can now be automated, thanks to these solutions, helping hospitals maintain the high standards of quality care and the safe environment expected of them.

References

  1. https://www.statista.com/outlook/hmo/hospitals/worldwide
  2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31589283/
Chief Operating Officer at LLumin CMMS+

Karen Rossi is a seasoned operations leader with over 30 years of experience empowering software development teams and managing corporate operations. With a track record of developing and maintaining comprehensive products and services, Karen runs company-wide operations and leads large-scale projects as COO of LLumin.