Patient equipment management: integrating a flexible alternative to purchase or lease.

As hospital CSS and OR departments work together to manage patient equipment, alternatives to purchase are available that can provide them with needed flexibility and responsiveness. A rental equipment provider that can meet the standards demanded for quality health care can become a valuable asset when developing and refining a hospitalwide equipment management program. But in order to receive the level of quality and service they should expect, hospitals must continually communicate their changing needs while holding their providers accountable to established standards.