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Clinical equipment management systems (CEMS) offer more than a paperless and painless method for tracking service, vendors, staff, and inventory--though these are often the reasons used to justify their purchase. But even more value can be found when data collected by the system is used to improve service rather than just document it.

Many biomeds have been using equipment management software to meet and document regulatory requirements for years. "It's hard to think about life without it," says Paul Gudenau, CBET, corporate program manager of clinical engineering services at Mount Clemens and Pontiac Regional Medical Centers, a McLaren Health ...