Service intelligence
Bronze to Comprehensive: how to choose a Care Plan tier
The right tier depends less on budget and more on how much downtime your facility can actually absorb.
· 5 min read · VIVACARE editorial team
Equipment service plans are often sold on price, tier by tier, without much guidance on which tier actually fits a given facility. A more useful starting question is: how much unplanned downtime can this facility absorb before it affects patient care?
A facility that can absorb some downtime
A facility with a backup method for critical tests, or lower daily volume, can often run comfortably on a lighter tier — one annual preventive-maintenance visit and chargeable repairs may be an acceptable trade for a lower ongoing cost.
A facility where downtime has a direct clinical cost
A high-volume laboratory, a blood bank, or a facility with no backup instrument for a critical test is usually better served by a tier that includes guaranteed loan equipment during repair, a stated uptime percentage rather than just a response time, and included spare parts — because the cost of an instrument being down for two weeks is usually far higher than the price difference between tiers.
Questions worth asking regardless of tier
Is calibration included or chargeable? Are spare parts included, discounted, or full price? Is there a stated uptime percentage with a remedy if it's missed, or only a response-time commitment? VIVACARE publishes a full side-by-side of what each Care Plan tier includes on the Care Plans page — the same comparison a facility should ask any service provider for, in writing, before signing.
Have a question specific to your facility?
General guidance only takes you so far — a specialist can work through your actual configuration.