GE HealthCare and reLink Medical Collaborate to Help Reduce Medical Device Waste for Healthcare Providers

Rhea-AI Summary

GE HealthCare and reLink Medical collaborate to deliver asset management solutions to healthcare providers, helping reduce medical device waste and increase operational efficiency. The collaboration offers a standardized medical equipment disposition solution involving selling, recycling, or donating equipment that is no longer needed. The collaboration aims to support healthcare providers in disposing of medical equipment in a safe, compliant, and environmentally responsible manner.

Positive

• The collaboration between GE HealthCare and reLink Medical offers a potential revenue stream for healthcare providers by selling, recycling, or donating their end-of-life medical equipment. Providers can receive a percentage of the revenue from equipment sales as credits that can be used for purchasing equipment, training, or other services. The collaboration helps reduce medical device waste and supports sustainability efforts by keeping millions of pounds of medical waste out of landfills each year. It also provides efficiency gains through managing equipment surplus, offering transportation and storage solutions for healthcare providers.

Negative

• None.

• The average 250-bed hospital in the U.S. has approximately 2,000 medical devices that may require end-of-life monitoring and planning for potential disposition.¹
• GE HealthCare and reLink Medical will help healthcare providers manage their end-of-life medical equipment, and provide them with a potential revenue stream, by selling, recycling or donating their equipment.
• This collaboration between GE HealthCare and reLink Medical will further advance both companies’ commitment to sustainability.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GE HealthCare (Nasdaq: GEHC) and reLink Medical today announced a collaboration to deliver asset management solutions to healthcare providers to help reduce medical device waste, increase operational efficiency and maximize their equipment utilization. This collaboration features a standardized medical equipment disposition solution involving selling, recycling or donating equipment that is no longer needed.

Management of medical equipment disposition. Photo courtesy of reLink Medical.

Each year, healthcare providers retire approximately ten percent of their medical assets from use.² Attempting to manage medical device waste independently can often require staff time and create cumbersome processes filled with hidden costs. As providers continue to face cost pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic, managing budgets and uncovering cost savings is a priority.

“A potential and often overlooked source of expense for providers is medical device waste, which includes aging, or end-of-life, medical devices that sit idle in a healthcare provider’s inventory,” said Mohamed El-Demerdash, President, U.S. & Canada Service, GE HealthCare. “With this collaboration, GE HealthCare will help healthcare providers manage their clinical devices for the full lifecycle of their equipment, a true wing-to-wing solution, from capital planning and purchasing to maintenance and final disposition of the equipment.”

When the disposition solution entails selling the medical equipment, a percentage of the revenue from that sale is returned to the healthcare provider in the form of credits that they can use to purchase equipment or parts, invest in training for their technicians and engineers, purchase On-Demand services including deinstallations or specific hospital modernization projects, or redeem the revenue via a wire transfer or check from reLink Medical.

Sustainability is an important consideration for the management of end-of-life equipment. More than six million pounds of medical waste are kept out of landfills each year through reLink Medical’s processes.³ This collaboration between GE HealthCare and reLink Medical is aimed at supporting healthcare providers in disposing medical equipment in a safe, compliant and environmentally responsible manner and it further advances GE HealthCare and reLink Medical’s commitment to sustainability.

Efficiency Gains Through Managing Equipment Surplus

In addition to managing the disposition of end-of-life medical devices, as part of this collaboration GE HealthCare and reLink Medical can transport equipment for redeployment between clinical sites and provide long-term storage of equipment for healthcare providers at offsite locations through a smart warehouse solution.

This solution will manage logistics to simplify pick up of medical devices from a healthcare provider’s site and catalog every device so providers have a clear understanding of where their assets are located, helping to ensure they have the medical equipment they need without bearing the burden of storing and managing surplus inventory.

“This collaboration signifies a significant step forward in revolutionizing asset management solutions and empowering healthcare organizations with the tools and technologies needed to optimize their equipment utilization,” said Jeff Dalton, CEO, reLink Medical. “It leverages reLink Medical’s expertise in equipment disposition, surplus management and inventory optimization to complement GE HealthCare’s comprehensive suite of healthcare solutions.”

¹ reLink Medical data on file.
² reLink Medical data on file.
³ reLink Medical data on file.

About GE HealthCare Technologies Inc.

GE HealthCare is a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, dedicated to providing integrated solutions, services, and data analytics to make hospitals more efficient, clinicians more effective, therapies more precise, and patients healthier and happier. Serving patients and providers for more than 100 years, GE HealthCare is advancing personalized, connected, and compassionate care, while simplifying the patient’s journey across the care pathway. Together our Imaging, Ultrasound, Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics businesses help improve patient care from diagnosis, to therapy, to monitoring. We are an $18.3 billion business with 50,000 employees working to create a world where healthcare has no limits.

Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Insights for the latest news, or visit our website https://www.gehealthcare.com/ for more information.

About reLink Medical

reLink Medical is a leading provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions specializing in asset disposition. With a focus on equipment disposition, surplus management, and inventory optimization, reLink Medical delivers cutting-edge technologies to enhance efficiency and optimize asset utilization in healthcare organizations. reLink Medical specializes in planning, executing, and managing the disposition of retired medical equipment throughout the healthcare industry. An ISO 9001:2015 certified company operating with the highest quality and sustainability standards, our tech-enabled solutions support hospitals by leveraging proven processes and the power of people and infrastructure.

Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest news, or visit our website relinkmedical.com for more information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231026944533/en/

GE HealthCare Media Contact:

Laura Fait

U.S. & Canada Communications Lead

M +1 414 429 2675

Laura.Fait@ge.com

reLink Medical Media Contact:

Gregory E Hemphill

Senior Vice President of Enterprise Solutions

M: +1 216 762 0549

ghemphill@relinkmedical.com

Source: GE HealthCare

FAQ

What is the collaboration between GE HealthCare and reLink Medical about?

The collaboration aims to deliver asset management solutions to healthcare providers, helping reduce medical device waste and increase operational efficiency.

How can healthcare providers benefit from this collaboration?

Healthcare providers can benefit from this collaboration by selling, recycling, or donating their end-of-life medical equipment, which can provide them with a potential revenue stream. They can also receive a percentage of the revenue from equipment sales as credits that can be used for purchasing equipment, training, or other services.

What are the sustainability benefits of this collaboration?

The collaboration helps support sustainability efforts by keeping millions of pounds of medical waste out of landfills each year.

What efficiency gains are provided by this collaboration?

The collaboration offers efficiency gains through managing equipment surplus, providing transportation and storage solutions for healthcare providers.