August 13, 2012 — Providers are increasingly focused on using interventional labs in a hybrid operating room (OR) environment, but better support and training are needed to ensure success in this evolution of technology, suggests some of the findings in a recent KLAS study, “Interventional X-ray 2012: A Continuing Evolution.”
The research indicates that providers are specifically looking for vendors' training quality and readiness for hybrid OR suites when selecting interventional X-ray systems. Healthcare providers across the United States expressed their opinions regarding four specific vendors in the market. For the third year in a row, Toshiba earned the top score for overall satisfaction, followed by Phillips, GE and Siemens. Providers highlighted Toshiba's field support, proactive service and account management. However, Toshiba has only two of their participating customers currently using the Infinix-i as a hybrid OR.
Conversely, with 13 customers using their equipment in a hybrid OR, Siemens has the greatest market penetration in this area. Although providers rated Siemens fourth place overall, Kirk Ising, report author and strategic operations director at KLAS, says that may come with the territory. The reason is that hybrid OR requires a much more complex process to set up, and training is difficult to coordinate and execute effectively.
"Currently, providers who are using a hybrid OR are early adopters," Ising said. "And although Siemens has been first to the table with the technology piece, they will need to improve their contracting, training and implementation processes to better meet providers' expectations."
While Phillips scored higher than Siemens overall, they only have two customers using the FD20 in a hybrid OR. When it comes to implementations, Philips customers report that communication is excellent. However, communication seems to fall off post-implementation, which appears to disappoint hands-on managers.
Provider satisfaction with GE's Innova 3100 has steadily improved in the past five years, giving GE third place in this study. Better service and support have helped GE make their customers more satisfied. The Innova 3100 is not being used in any hybrid OR settings because it is a floor-mounted unit. In order to tap the hybrid OR market, GE released the Discovery IGS 730, which is meant for hybrid OR use, but there are not enough live sites to measure it for the 2012 study.
For more information: www.KLASresearch.com