The rising cost of healthcare is a heavily debated topic today. How do you utilize the latest innovative approaches to tackle the problem while also maintaining high-quality patient care? Although there are many groundbreaking discoveries and new devices that are helping doctors diagnose and treat patients more efficiently, the main focus is being placed around the relationship between insurance companies and healthcare providers. There is a startup out there that sees the high cost of health care as a problem but plans on attacking it in a different way.
Meet UptimeHealth. This Boston based startup is focused on tackling the high operational costs of running a healthcare facility. The company understands that solving the high cost of healthcare will take more than one-silver bullet and organizations need to look at reducing spend and improving efficiencies at every aspect of care, including how they handle medical equipment. UptimeHealth aims to reduce the cost that small to mid-sized hospitals have to spend to operate and maintain their medical equipment.
Many people do not realize that medical equipment is required to be serviced on a regular basis and healthcare providers are also required to document who serviced the machine, what test was performed, and what actions were taken by the service provider. Not only is this time consuming for the medical staff, but it also comes with a high price tag. Some larger imaging machines, like CT Scanners and MRIs, can have an annual maintenance cost upward $100,000.
Larger healthcare networks and facilities are able to counteract the high-cost equipment management by building out an in-house team or taking the time to identify reliable third-party service providers. Although networks are able to save more than 20% with these tactics, it requires a very technical staff with an in-depth understanding of the equipment, and a constant ear to the ground regarding the fight in the right to repair debate. This is a contentious debate that centres around OEMs constantly finding ways to make life difficult for independent organizations or in-house teams to work on their equipment.
UptimeHealth interviewed several smaller healthcare clinics and saw that there was no one on staff actively looking to improve their equipment management and reduce equipment service cost. Why? They found that the staff was already overworked. They did not have the budget to hire someone to assist with an equipment management effort. And quite simply, they weren’t sure where to look for independent providers. Furthermore, when purchasing the equipment, the facility was too small to create any kind of leverage to negotiate better prices.
Jinesh Patel and Bill Olsen, the two Co-Founders of UptimeHealth, saw this as an opportunity to create a sophisticated solution to help smaller and independent clinics save money. They developed a free software platform that allows facilities to upload their equipment inventory, keep track of the device information, and document repair and service work orders to meet regulatory requirements. Once the user puts the information in the system, UptimeHealth groups all of the similar devices together and sources local, verified, trusted service providers to bid on the service contracts in a marketplace-style environment. Users are calling it Angie’sList of equipment service. Not only does this allow the negotiation power of a larger network, but it also offers users the benefit of reading reviews and sourcing only from a pool of trusted providers in seconds.
UptimeHealth’s software solution will help improve patient care. Letting these smaller facilities efficiently source local, trusted talent will improve equipment uptime and allow healthcare facilities to maximize the life of the equipment, service more patients, improve revenue, and reduce cost.
The company is still in early stages and has been able to save upwards of 20% for its beta clients. In the coming months, the company will be launching in Houston, Boston, New York, Baltimore, and California. Whether your clinic resides in one of these cities or not, click here to learn more. The more users on the platform, better the service and to save the group will be able to yield.
UptimeHealth works with: All Healthcare Facilities, Veterinary Clinics, Optometry Clinics, Dental Clinics, Diagnostic Laboratories
Categories: Healthcare Operations, Healthcare Services, Finance, Startup Tech, Healthcare Startup
UptimeHealth is tackling the rising cost of healthcare with their innovative software. They developed a free software platform that allows facilities to upload their equipment inventory, keep track of the device information, and document repair and service work orders to meet regulatory requirements. Once the user puts the information in the system, UptimeHealth groups all of the similar devices together and sources local, verified, trusted service providers to bid on the service contracts in a marketplace-style environment. Users are calling it Angie’sList of equipment service.
About the Company:
UptimeHealth is a Boston based company founded by Jinesh Patel and Bill Oslen. Jinesh and Bill are seasoned professionals with healthcare operation management backgrounds. They understand the administrative burden of maintaining device uptime and regulatory compliance. UptimeHealth was created as a free software platform to help administrative staff maintain inventory, and track equipment maintenance. We want healthcare facilities to focus on patients over paperwork.