Healthcare Asset Management Software
Sirona Care & Health
How Sirona Care & Health Gained Full Visibility of 10,000+ Medical Assets Across Multi-Site Operations
A complete healthcare asset management system delivered
& operating in just a few weeks
- 10,000+ medical devices successfully tagged and digitally tracked
- Bulk data uploads from 3 engineering companies eliminated manual reporting
- 5-6 year rolling replacement programme established for strategic capital planning
- 100+ office locations now connected through one central system
- CQC compliance reporting streamlined with instant asset verification
- Fast, accurate reporting replaced time-consuming spreadsheet management
The Requirement
Sirona Care & Health is a regional healthcare social enterprise dedicated to helping children and adults maintain their independence through comprehensive care services. Operating across South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, and Bristol, Sirona Care & Health delivers vital healthcare services on behalf of the NHS.
Following a successful merger in 2020, the organisation further expanded when they secured a major contract to provide healthcare services across Bristol and North Somerset, adding to their existing South Gloucestershire operations. This growth brought exciting opportunities, as well as significant operational challenges.
The Healthcare Asset Management Challenge
The rapid expansion left Sirona facing a critical problem that many healthcare organisations will recognise: lack of visibility over the location and status of their medical assets.
“We didn’t know what we had, where it was, or what condition it was in,” explains Dominic Hardiman, Community Equipment Lead at Sirona. “10,000 asset items is a huge challenge to manage and report on using spreadsheets.”
The Scale of the Challenge
Sirona’s asset management demands were complex and multi-layered:
- Over 10,000 medical devices including specialist equipment, speech and language therapy tools, iPads and medical furniture
- 100+ team locations spread across a large geographical area
- Community-based assets that atravel with staff, making tracking and management more difficult
- Multiple asset registers with each team maintained their own local spreadsheets and processes
- Inconsistent data management – interal data sources plus external servicing data from at least three different engineering firms
- No central database to track what had been serviced, asset values, equipment locations or audit trail and history
Healthcare-Specific Complications
The challenges were compounded by the unique demands of healthcare operations:
CQC compliance requirements demanding proof of asset tracking, maintenance and servicing schedules
Patient safety implications of not knowing which medical devices were due for maintenance
Community equipment loads where devices could be in patients' homes for extended periods
Multiple engineering contractors each with their own reporting systems and formats
The Digital Healthcare Asset Management Solution
After researching five to six different software companies, Sirona chose Assettrac due to their healthcare asset management experience. The decision came down to two critical factors that many healthcare organisations should consider:
Complete System Ownership
Unlike other providers who would have handed over system management to Sirona’s already-stretched IT team, Assettrac provides full on-going maintenance and support. “Other providers were offering local systems that would have become ours to maintain,” explains Hardiman. “Sirona IT preferred an option fully supported by the provider.”
Healthcare-Focused Customisation
Assettrac built tailored a fully customised cloud system specifically designed around Sirona’s healthcare workflows and compliance needs.
The Implementation Process
The implementation was refreshingly straightforward:
1. Initial scoping meeting with Assettrac to understand requirements and demonstrate system capabilities
2. Custom system presentation showing exactly how the solution would work for Sirona’s specific needs.
3. Fresh start approach – rather than trying to transfer outdated spreadsheet data, they began tagging new and replacement equipment immediately.
4. Staff training and support including one week of on-site training to kick-start the tagging process.
5. Bespoke asset labels printed and distributed across all locations.
“From first meeting to going live wasn’t a massively long period,” note Hardiman and Bisset. “It was fairly speedy with no huge delays. It evolved over just a few weeks of back-and-forth to make sure everything worked properly.”
Key System Features for Healthcare Asset Management
The Assettrac system was configured with healthcare-specific functionality:
Digital tagging with mobile scanning for all equipment, including assets already based in the community
Multi-site access control so teams only see their relevant assets
Engineeriing contractor integration allowing bulk data uploads from servicing companies
Compliance reporting tools for CQC inspections
Photo storage and service histories for comprehensive asset records
Alert systems that send email notifications when maintenance is due
The Transformational Results
The impact of implementing Assettrac’s medical asset management system has been transformational for Sirona’s operations.
Operational Excellence Achieved
Complete Asset Visibility
“It’s a great tool. Such a big dataset in Excel gets very messy, but having it as a cloud-based system accessible from anywhere is fantastic,” explains the team. “Scanners and other medical devices from all over the company are listed and different teams can access the same real-time data and situation.”
Instant Reporting Capabilities
The transformation in reporting speed has been remarkable. “We’re asked for bespoke reports constantly and with Assettrac they’re always created quickly, which means the data is there and it’s easy to access. It’s great to have the data to back up the projects we’re doing.”
Strategic Planning Revolution
Capital Planning Transformation
Perhaps most significantly, Sirona has established their first-ever rolling replacement programme. “We never had a rolling replacement programme before. Now we’ve built this into our reports so we can generate a 5-6 year rolling replacement plan and roughly estimate how much we’ll spend year-on-year, which from a capital perspective is really useful.”
Project Support
The system now provides crucial data for strategic initiatives. “We had a project changing glucose monitors. We could produce a report of what we currently have to help estimate what we need for a new contract.”
Compliance & Quality Assurance
CQC Readiness
“Compliance-wise, some of the questions the CQC always asks are: how do you track your assets, how do you know what you’ve got, how do you know if it’s all being serviced? If everything is done properly, it’s all there and we can run reports and demonstrate this for CQC inspections.”
Data Accuracy Improvement
“It’s as good as the data you put in, and it’s just getting better and better. The system gets more accurate every year as new equipment is added and processes become embedded.”
Efficiency & Time-Savings
Data Accuracy Improvement
The integration with engineering contractors has eliminated manual data entry. “Previously, engineering firms would have to send their own reports as there was no way of data being updated automatically. Now, the system pulls all data together to give us one central view of what we have at each location.”
Streamlined Workflows
While Sirona acknowledges the challenge of changing established working practices (“some teams were more organised than others, and there was a battle to let go of their own systems”), the centralised approach has eliminated the time spent updating multiple individual spreadsheets.
Real-World Problem Solving
Immediate Access to Information
Perhaps most significantly, if someone asks ‘how many thermometers do you have?’, it’s a couple of clicks to find out, demonstrating the practical value of having searchable, real-time asset data and a robust operational process.
Equipment Rationalisation
The system enables strategic equipment decisions. “We can quickly run reports to rationalise types of technology, like ECGs, helping us standardise and optimise our equipment choices.”
On-Going Support & Development
Responsive Customer Service
“There’s never usually a wait time on the phone to speak to someone directly and they’re always really helpful. We’ve had projects we’ve developed further from the initial specification, and they’ve helped us build dashboards for different teams.”
Adaptable Asset Management Solution
“Assettrac always seems willing to listen to your ideas and schemes. Some things can happen quickly, others are works in progress, but they develop the system for your specific needs,” adds Hardiman.
Future-Proofing Healthcare Operations
The system continues to evolve with Sirona’s needs and growth. Currently at about 90% asset coverage, they’re working on their remaining items and considering expansion to other resource areas like IT equipment.
For healthcare organisations struggling with asset visibility, compliance reporting, or strategic planning challenges, Sirona’s transformation demonstrates the real day-to-day benefits of moving from reactive, time-intensive spreadsheet management to proactive cloud-based asset management.