Service and maintenance have long been important aspects of managing diagnostic imaging equipment, and with an increase in equipment connectivity and hospital networking, cybersecurity is becoming a growing concern.
For hospitals, the top three priorities over the next three years related to imaging equipment service management are to reduce mean repair time, manage service needs for imaging on a 24/7/365 basis, and improve the cybersecurity of imaging equipment and networked healthcare information equipment.
Of the survey respondents who participated in our IMV 2023 Diagnostic Imaging Equipment Service Outlook Report, 78% indicated they expect the importance of cybersecurity to increase, 19% stated they expected it to stay the same, and 3% said they expected it to decrease in importance in 2024 and beyond.
The top two concerns regarding cybersecurity noted by those surveyed are ensuring the privacy of patients' protected health information and ransomware attacks. These concerns reflect the importance of protecting the data stored on hospital networks and connected systems because the consequences of data breaches or data corruption can be severe and directly impact patient care and safety.
Survey respondents stated that a hospital's IT department has the most responsibility for ensuring the cybersecurity of medical imaging devices.
As for service expenditures for diagnostic imaging equipment in 2022, the top modalities covered by service contracts were CT, x-ray, MRI, and ultrasound. Regarding service provider type in 2022, 49% of service-related spending (i.e., for time, labor and materials, or parts-only expenditures) was with an OEM, 41% with a third-party provider, and 10% outside of a formal service contract.
The report found that the top three diagnostic imaging service providers in 2022 -- by share of expenditures -- were GE HealthCare, Siemens Healthineers, and Crothall Healthcare. It also found the following:
Overall in 2022, 77% of sites had a post-warranty service contract with an OEM and 64% had one with a third-party service provider.
In 2023, 46% of respondents indicated that their primary hospital had at least one multi-OEM service contract.
Overall, the top modalities that are planned to be covered with full onsite service contracts (OEM) are CT with 41% of sites indicating, MRI with 39% and ultrasound with 29%.
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Davin Korstjens is a Senior Market Research Program Manager at IMV Medical Information Division, part of Science and Medicine Group.
IMV's 2023 Diagnostic Imaging Equipment Service Outlook Report explores market trends related to service contracts for diagnostic imaging equipment in U.S. hospitals. The report was published in August 2023 and is based on responses from 292 radiology and biomedical managers and administrators who participated in IMV's nationwide survey from May 2023 -June 2023. Vendors covered in this report include Agfa, Aramark, BC technical, Canon, Carestream, Crothall Healthcare, Fujifilm, GE, Hologic, Konica Minolta, Philips, Renovo Solutions, Samsung, Shimadzu, Siemens, Sodexo, TriMedx, Unisyn, United Imaging, Ziehm.
For information about purchasing IMV Market Outlook Reports, visit the corporate website at https://imvinfo.com/ or call 703-778-3080 ext. 1033 to speak with a representative. In addition to the report, all purchases will include a complimentary recording of an executive summary presentation of findings conducted by IMV’s Senior Program Manager.
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