What does your service contract cover?

Do you know what's covered under warranty and your service contract in your MRI suite? A better question is, “Do you know what's NOT covered?”.  And, even more importantly, do you know how you'll address failures WHEN they occur? The immediate answer, of course, is “Yes”. Consider the following.

Warranties and service contracts provide us with a sense of security that can, sometimes, be misleading. It’s easy to think that, because we have a warranty or a service contract in-place, our MRIs are covered no matter what happens. We expect to be back up and running in short order and at no additional costs.  The reality, and what many may not know,  is that warranties and service contracts are very different from insurance.  With warranties and contracts, you’re only protected under certain circumstances, and you’re not covered under others.  Similar to your car, warranties cover manufacturing defects or failures, not user error or slip ups.

Scenarios involving user error or human slip-ups occur every day in healthcare facilities. Accidents happen. Here are a few examples, of service events that were NOT covered under a service contract, from several clients.  

• While prepping for a patient study, a technologist dropped a large body coil cracking the housing and damaging the electronics. 
• While performing a scan, a patient lost bladder control. 
• The magnet was quenched because a ferrous object was pulled into the field and could not be removed.  
• While lowering the patient table, an MRI coil's system cable became trapped and was partially severed.
• While attempting to adjust the patient’s position on the table, the technologist pulled on the flex coil, tearing the foam and damaging internal components.

Whether a new MRI, covered under warranty, or an older model, covered under OEM contract, addressing the failures described above are, most times, the responsibility of the facility. It's not new. Failures considered preventable, avoidable, or attributed to trauma and/or misuse are often not covered by an OEM service contract and are definitely not considered valid under warranty. In the event that a single, preventable, failure IS covered, it most likely won't be covered a second time. Understanding how and why out-of-pocket expenses occur and developing contingency plans for when preventable failures occur can have a huge impact on service budgets.

 Let’s see how MRI coil failures relate to this scenario. Innovatus Imaging has a legacy in MRI coil manufacturing, and we provide service for several prominent OEMs. We’ve been servicing coils for over 30 years and have amassed a large amount of failure analysis data. Our data shows that the majority of MRI coil failures are a direct result of, or related to, mechanical damage or trauma.  Over 35% of all coils present with mechanical damage due to trauma, and an additional 18% are RELATED to trauma and/or improper use. Less than 20% are actually related to random component failures or electronic tuning. About another 28% are related to normal wear and tear. Knowing that over 50% of MRI coil failures may not be covered under your service contract should be reason to potentially rethink your service strategy for these devices.

Typically, when an MRI coil fails, the OEM sends a replacement next day. It may take days or even weeks before an invoice is received highlighting preventable damage and the out-of-pocket expense. The HTM team may not even have visibility to the invoice. You may be surprised to learn that some OEMs install shock sensors within their coils to determine if the coil has been dropped or exposed to an unusual amount of force. So, even though there are no outward signs or trauma or mechanical damage, coverage may be denied.

The tough reality you have to face with most MRI contracts is that 50% of your coil failures may not be covered. Having to absorb an out-of-pocket expense of $35,000 - $100,000+ for a single coil failure can ruin any budget. At one point or another, we've all been asked, "Did you read the fine print?". 

Analyze your options when considering a service contract on your MRI.

1. Full coverage SHOULD mean full coverage: Ensure that, if you have a service contract, that ANY and ALL failures are covered in the final cost. Costs will be high, but this option can ensure maximum uptime and continued workflow while eliminating out-of-pocket expenses.
2. Work smarter, not harder: Maximize your contract. If a standard OEM service contract is in-place, use an ISO 13485:2016 certified repair provider, such as Innovatus Imaging, to address any coil that shows evidence of preventable or avoidable damage. And, if there is ANY mechanical damage, do not assume that a replacement coil, through the OEM, will be covered. Address the failure via repair or non-OEM replacement using a qualified provider. 
3. Eliminate coils from your MRI service contract: If your systems are not supported in-house, service contracts are a must to insure uptime and continued workflow. Knowing that over 50% of coil failures may not be covered provides some powerful information. Consider removing MRI coils from the service contract altogether. There’s a huge cost savings to be realized, if managed properly. Coil repairs start as low as $500 and some repair providers offer loaners and/or expedited repairs. 

The bottom line for any facility, large or small is simple: When selecting a repair provider, be sure that repairs are performed with longevity in-mind. Ask about their length of time in the industry, quantity of repairs performed, and warranty period. All of which matter. For example, the team at Innovatus Imaging is applying experience from coil manufacturing and over 30 years and 45,000 plus coil repairs to define best-in-class repair processes. Ultimately, repair providers should demonstrate a dedication to quality by having ISO 13485:2016 certifications specific to the medical device(s) they support. 

Innovatus has repair capabilities on over 1,000 models of MRI coils. We have a solution for you. Latest breakthroughs include repairs to Philips fiber optic dStream™ coils and GE Air™ coils.

For more information on how Innovatus Imaging can help to reduce your service budget with quality, sustainable repairs for MRI coils and US probes, please contact info@innovatusimaging.com.