Biomedical repair pros say OEMs are slowing their work • The Register

When patient care is delayed in a hospital because something is broken, biomedical technicians would like you to understand that it's not usually their fault.

Right-to-repair advocates from the Public Interest Research Group published the results of a survey of biomedical equipment technicians (BMETs) on Thursday that found widespread frustration at the tendency for equipment manufacturers to withhold repairability information and equipment, leading to delays in fixes.

Most of the BMETs surveyed (83 percent) said delays in receiving parts, service keys, manuals, and other necessary repair materials “somewhat frequently” or “most of the time” increased equipment downtime. The number is similarly high (70 percent) for those who said diagnostic tool restrictions "commonly" delayed prompt patient care.

According to the study, the most common repair restrictions that BMETs encounter are OEMs' refusal to provide passwords or service keys needed to read diagnostic information, and limiting access to and overcharging for training courses they require BMETs to pass before getting access to certain info and gear.

So, why not just go with an OEM contract for equipment maintenance? Most hospitals have OEM contracts, but not for everything, PIRG right-to-repair campaign senior director Nathan Proctor explained.

"Every hospital has a mix of all three -- they have OEM contracts, they have in-house people, and they have certain things they work with independent service organizations [ISOs] on," Proctor told The Register in an email. "The whole mix of health technology management is complex and involves a range of routine maintenance, serious device failures, and in-depth repairs, IT support, and everything in between."

Relying on OEMs for timely repairs isn't a great idea. "OEM staffing shortages have become a huge issue," Proctor told us. "OEMs have not been hitting the timeline stipulated in their contracts."

Medical equipment used in hospitals has been exempted from several recently passed right-to-repair laws, PIRG noted in the report. PIRG is hoping to change that. The agricultural equipment industry is finally being forced to come around through a combination of government lawsuits and state-level bills specific to them, with PIRG and other groups pushing those efforts.

In this case, there's an even more pressing reason to make changes to healthcare equipment repairability, Proctor told us.

"Oftentimes there is tension between things that cut costs and things that improve quality in health care," Proctor opined. "Right to Repair is one of the rare things that both cuts costs and improves the quality of care. It's past time we enacted these reforms."