Medical technical equipment, ICT, copiers and printers are not ends in themselves, but key facilitators for efficient operations and treatment of patients.
The need for improved quality and treatment prognoses, more careful treatment and reduced rehabilitation times present hospitals with new financial challenges. Yet some of these requirements may contribute to overall cost reductions.
A surgical robot that carries out keyhole surgery costs an estimated NOK 15 million. Added to this are training, running costs and other expenses. But this type of operation dramatically reduces the time the patient has to stay in hospital as compared to traditional surgery. For a given volume of operations, the health trust's overall costs would therefore be reduced by investing in keyhole surgery technology rather than not investing in the equipment.
Operational leases offer health trusts the potential for deploying equipment on the basis of comprehensive financial considerations.