Taking charge of high-tech equipment purchases.

Today's rising operating costs and declining revenues have focused attention on the importance of materiel managers in influencing their hospital's struggle to balance fiscal responsibility with the need to remain in step with advancing technology. This change in the status has left some materiel managers still struggling to find ways to fulfill the expectations of their hospital's administration and many members of the staff. One way materiel managers can respond is by taking the lead in establishing a strategic planning mechanism for capital equipment purchases; by insisting that equipment purchase decisions be made in the context of the whole hospital; by insisting that purchase decisions look beyond price to return on investment; and by insisting that each acquisition be a worthwhile, long-term investment for the hospital. The obvious justification for these demands is that they make economic sense.