Building a Flexible Medical Linen Services Agreement

Flexibility may not be the first word that comes to mind when considering a legally binding contract But in many situations, having some wiggle room written into an agreement can make sense for both parties, especially regarding service agreements for outpatient healthcare facilities.

Vendor agreements for medical linen services in a healthcare facility are not only necessary but vital to operational success and patient safety. There are times, though, when patient volumes fluctuate, and the terms of a rigid service agreement can hinder both the healthcare facility and the service provider, draining resources and becoming financially impractical. The best way to avoid these increased burdens is for both sides to build and maintain a flexible service agreement that allows office managers to manage costs efficiently and enables service providers to meet fluctuating inventory needs.

A flexible agreement for medical linen services is the most practical and beneficial contract available for such a vital but variable aspect of managing an outpatient healthcare facility. Learn about the importance of building a flexible service agreement that works for you and how we’ve earned the trust of thousands of outpatient centers nationwide through a flexible approach.

Why You Need a Service Agreement for Medical Laundry Services

Service agreements are a bit more complicated than you might realize. These agreements outline the relationship between a non-physician service provider and a healthcare facility, stating that they work together but with separate responsibilities. There is a prohibition in most states blocking unlicensed individuals from owning or profiting from medical services. A properly structured service agreement ensures that the service provider has no say in the healthcare facility’s medical decisions. The agreement enables the healthcare facility to act independently without the influence of a corporation, unlicensed business, or the pursuit of profits, essentially allowing the business relationship to exist even if the service provider is not licensed.

So, for many services provided by non-physician businesses, like medical linens, a service agreement is more than just a statement of what the service provider will do and what the facility will pay. It can be vital to the business relationship itself. Building a flexible service agreement ensures that the business relationship can exist and that both parties get the most out of the services provided.

How to Build the Ideal Healthcare Linen Services Agreement

Managing a healthcare facility can be complicated, but by building an ideal, flexible service agreement for medical linen services, office managers and healthcare administrators can simplify inventory management, stocking, laundering, and oversight. But how do you create an agreement that works? It begins with proper planning, then designing a contract that works for both parties, and finally, continued management of your agreement.

Planning

The first step before signing an agreement for any service should be proper planning. For medical apparel and linen agreements, you’ll want to start by evaluating your finances, average patient volumes and trends, your medical linen and apparel usage, your facility’s storage capabilities, and all other aspects of your medical linen and laundry needs. You’ll also have to consider the culture your service provider embodies, their attitudes towards structure or adaptation, their industry experience, and their reputation.

Contracting

Once you’ve evaluated your needs and identified your ideal service provider, hash out a contract that mitigates risk for both parties. A good contract will lay out potential risks while allowing for flexible solutions—not rigid terms—in the instance an issue arises. When building a flexible agreement for your medical linen services, you’ll want to include provisions for changes to the scope of service and inventory levels, duration of the contract, and alignment of service levels, among other factors.

Management

 Once the contract is signed, and both parties are happy with the provisions, it’s essential to maintain a trustworthy relationship with your service provider through ongoing, open communication. The same commitment and responsiveness should go for the service provider—even more so. Both parties should stay engaged to ensure that medical linens arrive promptly and accurately to meet patient volumes.

Making Flexible Medical Linen Services Simpler

 Nixon Medical is a leading healthcare linen and laundry provider, priding ourselves on our flexible service agreements which have benefited thousands of outpatient facilities time and time again.

Through the volatility of the COVID-19 pandemic, one surgery center found confidence, comfort, and financial security in our flexible agreements. Before they even became a client, this center benefitted from our industry-recognized service difference when we rapidly accommodated overnight shipments for scrubs and surgical gowns.

Here’s what you can expect when you partner with Nixon Medical:

• Highly flexible service agreements
• Easy payment solutions
• No minimums required, ever
• Free deliveries for unexpected needs
• Contact-free service model
• Anytime access to route service representative
• HLAC-accredited laundering services

Nixon Medical has always prioritized making our services available and focused on meeting your needs as they change and grow. So, if you want to build an ideal flexible medical linen services agreement, make it simple and choose Nixon Medical. Let’s discuss your needs and how our industry experts and HLAC-accredited laundering services can meet them.