Point of View:

When you show up for a medical procedure — from a long-overdue MRI on a balky knee to emergency heart surgery — you likely aren’t thinking about the technicians behind the scenes who keep the necessary equipment working properly. In fact, you probably expect that doctors will have the working equipment they need to get you healthy as quickly as possible. But when hospitals have to rely on manufacturers to service their equipment, too often, broken equipment doesn’t get repaired in a timely manner and that can delay crucial patient care.