It’s Time for Change: Fighting for the Right to Repair for Medical Equipment

In a rapidly advancing technological environment, the Right to Repair movement has become a crucial battleground, with implications spanning from consumer technology to medical equipment. The general public is most familiar with Right to Repair through computers and phones—in particular, Apple is notorious for preventing consumers from repairing their own products or using third-party professionals to do so. But while Apple’s restrictive repair practices are well-known, the medical equipment industry, led by giants like Philips, Siemens, Hitachi/Fujifilm, and GE Healthcare, quietly employs similar strategies. Most recently, Philips not only updated the software on its MR systems to prevent third-party installations, but sued an independent provider for attempting to circumvent the update.

Now, consumers and smaller, innovative companies have had enough—and the Right to Repair movement has emerged as a lifeline for healthcare providers and patients alike.

Proprietary Repair Policies Victimize Consumers

Right to Repair advocates highlight the harm of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)’ restrictive repair policies. One concern is the extensive wait time for OEM repairs, particularly critical in healthcare where delays can lead to long waitlists for essential care. In underserved areas, such as rural “medical deserts,” extended equipment downtime may mean a complete lack of access to crucial treatments for patients, including those battling cancer.

At Providence Seward Medical Center (PSMC) in Alaska, their CT Scanner went down leaving them with no options to scan patients. Due to long wait times for repairs, the hospital resorted to a temporary solution of leasing a Mobile CT Trailer from a facility in Anchorage. The trailer took a 100 mile trek through one of the worst snow storms of the year.

The Mobile CT Scanner was parked outside of the Emergency Room giving the hospital a temporary solution to scan patients. However, the solution is far from ideal. Kim Stehlo, the Radiology Supervisor, expressed concerns bringing patients outside in the snow to get scanned, “Taking people outside…is really trying, because each bump hurts when you have pain. And taking people away from where the physicians and the nurses are—it’s difficult. When I take you outside of the building it gets a little more nerve-wracking.”

Delays in imaging caused by a broken CT Scanner or MRI System can lead to complications requiring more aggressive interventions later. By putting legislation in place advocating for 3^rd party repairs, hospitals like PSMC can cut down on wait times to repair equipment and continue to serve their patients within the safekeeping of their facility.

Exorbitant costs associated with OEM repairs also pose a burden on healthcare institutions, limiting their ability to provide efficient healthcare services within budget constraints.

Third-Party Businesses Deserve the Right to Repair

OEM restrictions have a cascading effect on third-party repair businesses. These independent entities play a crucial role in filling the gaps left by OEMs, offering timely and cost-effective solutions for equipment maintenance. By limiting access to repair manuals, spare parts, and diagnostic tools, OEMs undermine these services’ viability, reducing healthy competition in the industry and choices available to healthcare providers.

The Ethical Imperative of Right to Repair

In an era of sustainability, premature disposal of medical equipment contributes to electronic waste and resource depletion. Right to Repair advocates for a more ethical approach, preventing unnecessary waste and enabling the resale of equipment to facilities in rural centers, remote areas, and developing countries—which often cannot afford new equipment, but can make great use of secondhand machines that have many years left in their usable lives. In this way, Right to Repair promotes healthcare accessibility both domestically and worldwide.

Legislation that Moves the Needle

State legislators have joined the Right to Repair Fight, with California’s recent SB 44 being a new benchmark in regulatory support for the movement. It requires that manufacturers supply necessary tools, parts, software, and documentation to allow repairs, for seven years after producing devices over $100.

In the medical equipment context, the Right to Repair movement transcends convenience; it’s an essential component of patients’ right to healthcare. With open access to repair resources, providers will be empowered to maintain and repair equipment promptly, ensuring continuity of quality care even in under-resourced clinics and regions. As we champion the Right to Repair, we not only protect consumer rights but, more crucially, safeguard the health and safety of those relying on critical medical equipment daily.