Study: Data-Driven Service Strategy Cuts Hospital Costs by 17%

By Gary Clark

CLEVELAND, OH – May 28, 2026 – As hospitals nationwide grapple with razor-thin margins and persistent workforce shortages, a new study reveals a powerful strategy for significant cost savings and operational improvement. A multi-year analysis of 25 health systems found that adopting a connected, evidence-based approach to managing clinical technology cut service spending by an average of 17.3% while achieving a remarkable 98% uptime for critical medical equipment.

The findings come from a retrospective study released today by PartsSource, a clinical technology performance platform. The report, titled "Evidence at Scale," analyzed outcomes from 2023 to 2025 across more than 120 hospitals and hundreds of ambulatory sites. It highlights a path for healthcare providers to enhance clinical capacity not by spending more, but by managing existing assets more intelligently.

Tackling the High Cost of Fragmentation

For years, the healthcare industry has been plagued by a fragmented and inefficient approach to healthcare technology management (HTM). Hospitals often juggle hundreds of separate service contracts for thousands of devices from different manufacturers, creating a complex and costly web of vendors. This fragmentation leads to what industry experts call “hidden costs”—lost revenue from equipment downtime, which can cost a hospital up to $760 per device per day, and staff inefficiency as clinicians and technicians scramble to find working equipment or navigate complex repair processes.

The PartsSource study quantifies the impact of moving away from this model. By implementing a unified, data-driven strategy on the company's PartsSource PRO® platform, the 25 participating health systems not only achieved an average 17.3% cost reduction but also consolidated a staggering 981 vendor contracts—an average of 39 per health system. The financial benefits also grew over time, with compounded savings proving 53% higher in the third year of adoption compared to the first. This suggests that as more data is collected and processes are refined, the efficiency gains accelerate.

"Clinical assets are central to care delivery, yet most health systems still manage service, uptime, and workforce capability in fragmented ways," said Philip Settimi, MSE, MD, President and CEO of PartsSource, in a statement accompanying the release. "This study validates what leading clinical engineering professionals already know – when organizations apply evidence-based service strategy through a connected enterprise platform, they can improve performance without simply shifting cost or risk."

From Reactive Repairs to Proactive Performance

The traditional model for equipment maintenance is often reactive, or “break-fix,” where service is only called after a device fails. This approach inevitably leads to unplanned downtime, canceled patient procedures, and frustrated staff. The shift highlighted by the study is toward a proactive and predictive model, leveraging data to anticipate needs and prevent failures before they happen.

PartsSource has structured its PRO platform around four interconnected solutions designed to facilitate this shift:

• Parts: A digital supply chain providing access to millions of products, reducing the time it takes to procure a necessary part from hours to minutes.
• Service: A digitally managed network of qualified service providers that offers an alternative to expensive, rigid OEM contracts.
• Asset: A fleet-wide dashboard providing real-time visibility into equipment status, health, and utilization, creating what the company calls an "Asset Health Record."
• Workforce: AI-driven insights and training tools, including AR/VR content, to empower in-house HTM teams, a critical need given that nearly one-third of the clinical engineering workforce is nearing retirement.

This integrated approach addresses the core challenges facing modern HTM departments. The increasing complexity of medical devices, coupled with cybersecurity concerns and the need for seamless data integration, has stretched many in-house teams to their limits. By providing a unified platform with AI-driven insights and decision support, the system aims to empower existing staff to manage a wider and more complex array of assets effectively.

Bolstering Clinical Capacity and Patient Care

While the financial savings are compelling, the ultimate goal of improved asset management is enhanced patient care. The study's finding of 98% clinical asset uptime is perhaps its most critical metric. When diagnostic machines like MRI and CT scanners, surgical equipment, and patient monitors are consistently available, hospitals can increase patient throughput, reduce wait times for critical procedures, and improve the overall quality of care.

This reliability directly combats the strain caused by widespread healthcare worker shortages. When clinical staff can trust that their equipment will work, they can focus their time and energy on patients rather than on troubleshooting technology. Furthermore, by making in-house HTM teams more efficient and effective, the platform helps health systems do more with their existing workforce, mitigating the impact of a shrinking talent pool.

By transforming equipment management from a cost center into a strategic asset, health systems can unlock latent clinical capacity. This means more patients can be diagnosed and treated, directly impacting the health of the community a hospital serves. The data suggests that a more connected, intelligent approach to the technology that underpins modern medicine is not just a key to financial stability, but a fundamental component of effective healthcare delivery.

PartsSource is set to demonstrate these expanded capabilities and discuss the study's findings at the upcoming Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) eXchange in Denver, offering industry professionals a closer look at what may be the new standard for clinical asset performance.