Mobile Instrument Service & Repair:
Leading the Repair Industry with 30 Years of Innovation

Given the high cost of surgical instrumentation and the increasing case load volume experienced by many facilities – not to mention, the fact that quality outcomes hinge on physicians’ ability to wield high quality, well functioning devices – it’s little wonder healthcare organizations are taking a more proactive approach to surgical equipment maintenance and repair.

For 30 years, Bellefontaine, OH-based Mobile Instrument Service & Repair, Inc. has been a service provider-of-choice for hospitals and surgery centers throughout the U.S... And for good reason. Since its inception, service-disabled, veteran-owned and operated, Mobile Instrument has fully understood the importance of properly maintained instrumentation, as well as the need to repair and service instruments in as cost-effective and efficient a manner as possible to keep ORs and other busy departments on schedule, and prevent costly downtime and replacement expenses associated with broken or poorly functioning devices.

With a keen eye on innovation, Mobile Instrument pioneered the onsite repair business back in 1978 and became synonymous with high quality service and rapid instrument turnaround. Today, Mobile Instrument operates the largest fleet of onsite surgical instrument repair vehicles, making it a truly nationwide service provider with customers throughout the United States and Canada.

Through its 165 state-of-the-art mobile service labs, technicians can ensure that each tray is properly maintained and rotated, and that each device is functioning optimally when it’s needed most. Above all, healthcare organizations have the added benefit of having their instruments serviced on - premises by some of the industry’s most highly competent and skilled technicians, which means faster turnaround, the highest level of quality service, and no risk of instrument loss or damage during transport.

While the onsite repair and maintenance service is undoubtedly a cornerstone of Mobile Instrument’s business, it is simply a portion of the overall services the company provides. In direct response to customer needs, Mobile Instrument began offering rigid scope repair in 1989, followed by flexible scope repair in 1991. Now, with a sprawling, four-facility campus that spans more than 85,000 square feet, ISO-certified Mobile Instrument boasts state-of-the-art in-house repair labs for a wide range of services, from rigid and flexible scopes, and power and video equipment, to laparoscopic instruments and ultrasound transducers, among other equipment.

With technicians and engineers comprising half of all employees at Mobile Instrument’s corporate offices, this leading service and repair provider has long been at the forefront of technological advancement within the surgical equipment care and maintenance segment. Because of Mobile Instrument’s highly skilled staff, extensive resources and innovative, industry-leading facilities, even extensively damaged items labeled “non-repairable” can often be repaired by Mobile Instrument, thereby minimizing the expense associated with premature replacement. To further maximize customers’ investment, Mobile Instrument technicians work closely with their customers – from surgical services and sterile processing personnel to biomedical engineering and GI lab staff – to educate them on the proper care and handling of instruments through accredited education, in-services, preventive maintenance and ongoing technical support.

Mindful of its sales efforts eclipsing its ability to safely perform quality repair, Mobile Instrument’s focus has always been to establish long-term partnerships with the facilities it services. It’s also why Mobile Instrument has thrived for three decades and has earned the solid reputation as the nation’s largest, most trusted surgical equipment repair provider.

Here Robert Purtell, director of business development for Mobile Instrument, sheds more light on the company’s stand-out qualities, its enduring commitment to the highest degree of service, and what customers can expect from Mobile Instrument in the future.

Q. As the first repair provider to offer onsite instrument repair and maintenance services, it’s understandable why Mobile Instrument has become somewhat synonymous
with that side of the business. But what else sets Mobile Instrument apart from other service and repair providers in the marketplace?

A: While onsite repair remains a big part of our business, we offer so much more than that. We have been offering technologically advanced repairs on rigid and flexible scopes for almost 20 years (as long as any third party company in the industry) and since then we’ve added the repair of sophisticated power equipment, video cameras and Ultrasound transducers to our service line up. We are not a broker and service over 95% of our own repairs at our campus in Ohio and are the best in the industry at what we do. This high level of service capabilities, coupled with our ability to provide quality and truly nationwide service, is what has enabled us to become – and remain – a leader in the equipment service and repair industry for all these years.

Q. We know it’s important for hospitals and surgery centers to have access to well-functioning equipment and instrumentation – even while their own devices are undergoing service and repair at an offsite facility. How does Mobile Instrument help facilitate that goal?

A: Mobile Instrument understands that most healthcare organizations can neither afford to replace instrumentation before its time nor afford the downtime associated with having their equipment out of service. Not only are our technicians and engineers highly skilled and able to repair even the most delicate equipment as effectively and efficiently as possible – even severely damaged items that may have been deemed non-repairable. Mobile Instrument has invested in a vast loaner inventory to keep its customers up and running. We have an extensive inventory of rigid scopes, flexible scopes, video equipment and power equipment in our loaner inventory, and this equipment is provided to our customers at no charge while their equipment is being repaired. In select cases we also provide rental solutions or purchases of additional equipment through our pre-owned surgical equipment inventory.

Q. We have all seen the marketing push by some OEMs warning healthcare organizations that independent service organizations cannot perform the same level of quality service that they do. How does Mobile Instrument respond to those OEM claims?

A: In many cases, we would agree with them. We have seen a lot of service and repair companies come and go over the years, and it’s safe to say that there are very few third party companies that actually repair the equipment properly. But when you are a company as large and experienced as Mobile Instrument, and committed to quality in the way that we are, that isn’t a concern. Aside from our extensive experience in this industry, we also have the capital to invest in ongoing research and development, and have even designed and fabricated our own components. When you’re a smaller, lesser experienced company, you just don’t have the ability or the resources to do some of those things. We focus a tremendous amount of time and financial investment into development and testing so that we can provide quality, medical-grade components and technical repairs that will stand up, and even outperform, the original manufacturers’ standards. I’d also like to point out that Mobile Instrument is on pretty much every major group purchasing contract out there, so when a large hospital group puts you on a contract, that just goes to show the faith they have in you and your quality. That speaks to our expertise and explains why we have continued to thrive these past 30 years.

Q. What’s in the future for Mobile Instrument?

A: Mobile Instrument will continue to do what we do best and that is to focus on providing the services and solutions that our customers need and the Quality that they expect. This has been a successful formula for Mobile Instrument for 30 years. With the economy the way that it is and the fact that healthcare organizations have to really stretch their resources, we believe it’s more important than ever to give them a high quality, cost-effective alternative to the repair services being provided by the OEM and other repair companies. We will continue to focus on innovation so that we can remain at the forefront of the third-party medical equipment repair industry.
     
For more information on Mobile Instrument Service & Repair please call 800.722.3675 or visit www.mobileinstrument.com.