Olympus has become the first surgical product manufacturer to introduce guaranteed next-day replacements for surgical equipment at no additional charge. The Olympus Uptime Guarantee, as it’s known, became available to customers with an Olympus full-service agreement earlier this year. The company says the service is intended to help customers restore equipment quickly and return to patient care.

“Canceled procedures can be costly for healthcare facilities and frustrating for patients,” said Bob Reinhardt, vice president, Group Marketing, Service and Sales Operations, Medical Systems Group at Olympus Corporation of the Americas. “This is counterproductive for administrators seeking ways to meet the triple aim of healthcare reform—to reduce costs and spending while enhancing patient safety and satisfaction. The Olympus Uptime Guarantee helps achieve these goals by minimizing the number of canceled procedures resulting from out-of-service equipment.”

The company’s full-service agreement provides customers with complete repair coverage, including for accidental damage, with no cap for contracted equipment. The agreement also offers around-the-clock technical phone support, onsite field support, and the use of a single purchase order for the duration of the service contract.

According to Robert Ward, perioperative equipment resource specialist at St John Hospital, the 24-hour delivery guarantee will allow facilities like his to reduce equipment inventory. “The fast turnaround would increase productivity—we would not need to wait on loaners or increase inventory to meet the demand. And with the charge only for the repair instead of a replacement cost, this could equate to savings in the long run.”

Customers who started their full-service agreement coverage on or after January 1, 2015, are eligible to use the Uptime Guarantee for equipment on Olympus’ current Uptime Guarantee product list. Customers must submit replacement requests to the Olympus Service Center between Monday and Friday by 8 pm ET to ensure next-day delivery.

For more information, visit the Olympus website.