ticular, are a
challenge. You
may often have
a camera con-
necting to the
camera box with
a fairly fragile
connector, so it
can become eas-
ily damaged."
5. Service and support. Our experts' advice: Seek out vendors that
can provide as much help as possible in terms of product support,
troubleshooting, product warranties or guarantees, and good deals on
replacement parts.
"Our model is one of cost containment, where we're able to repair any
broken equipment ourselves, so anything a vendor can do to help us
accomplish that is very helpful," says Mr. McLaughlin. "We believe serv-
icing our equipment on site provides the best turnaround time and
uptime, so we like to work with manufacturers who are willing to work
with us."
Vet vendors over their policies on trade-ins and warranties, as well as
flexibility during trialing. This is especially important if you have service
lines using older equipment and seeking an upgrade — say, headlights
with video capability.
"We'll identify a couple of different products and ask those vendors to
provide loaner equipment for a month or two so we can get a feel for
how the surgeons like it," says Mr. McLaughlin. "We'll want to pass the
headlight around and have as many surgeons as we can try it out."
8 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A P R I L 2 0 1 7
• SAME VIEW Can you standardize
surgical headlamps even if you
offer multiple service lines?
