RT Image February 15, 2010 : Page 19HEN IT COMES TO REFURBISHED AND PRE-OWNED RADIOLOGY EQUIPMENT, times and opinions are changing. “I definitely think that the opinion is changing and people would be more willing to entertain the thought of purchasing a refurbished piece of equipment than they would have [been] two years ago,” says Rosemary Fisher, RT(R)(MR)(CT), co-founder of MRI Optimize Consultants in Tempe, Ariz. W Jim Moran, director of field marketing at Philips Healthcare in Andover, Mass., agrees. Quoting a statement from Sg2, an independent healthcare research and consulting organization headquartered in Chicago, Moran says, “Twenty-six percent of all customers will consider refurbished equipment, which is much higher than it was in earlier years.” Why the change? Several factors have contributed to renewed interest in this not-so-new industry. Changing opinions, motivated by purchasing issues like tighter budgets and shifting equipment needs, have created an ideal atmosphere for the refurbished and pre-owned industry to become the new stars of radiology technology. Suppliers have responded by expanding and initiating new programs and services. CUTTING COSTS The economic crisis has affected every business and budget, including the healthcare industry. Doug Ryan, senior director, CT business unit at Toshiba America Medical Systems, headquartered in Tustin, Calif., believes that hos- pitals with money invested in the stock market took a major hit months ago. With less money, purchases are scrutinized and refurbished equipment becomes more appealing. This option becomes even more viable for MR, considered by many, including Fisher, to be the most expensive modality in the radiology world. However, the economy is not the only driving factor behind interest, and not the only problem contributing to restricted funds. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) has changed reimbursement rates, which Ryan believes has adversely affected outpatient centers. Paul Yastrab, director of Physicians Imaging Solutions, a medical logistics and technology leasing company in Canton, Ohio, agrees. “Reimbursements are just terrible. People can’t afford to spend $1.7 million on an MR anymore when they can get one that’s four years old for a third of the cost,” he says. Yastrab says of the nine facilities that Physicians Imaging Solutions owns and operates, four use pre-owned equipment. He expects that number to climb in the future. “I would say [with] our business model and the people we’ll work with on a going-for- ward basis, 95 percent of them are all going to be pre-owned equipment,” he says. Compared with new models, the purchase of a used imaging system can result in substantial savings, which varies according to modality, warranty, upgrade packages, and vendor. Although the formula isn’t exact, customers could save 35 percent to 50 percent from purchasing new with second- generation refurbished systems, Moran says. Another Man’s Gold OBSOLETE CAN BE A RELATIVE TERM ABROAD. Outdated imaging equipment in America is traditionally sent to devel- oping countries, where it can be sold or donated. Last year, a village clinic in a slum near Bamako in Mali, West Africa, received an ultrasound donation that changed their facility and community. “The purpose of the project was to reduce the infant mortality rate, and also to screen potential high-risk pregnancy for HIV positive women,” says Mali Rochas, executive director of the Providence, R.I.-based Global Alliance to Immunize Against AIDS (GAIA). Radiologist Rebecca Gerber, MD, had suggested plans to GAIA for the ultrasound in 2006; however, it would be a few years until the machine would arrive at the village. Though donated by Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island in Providence, shipping was an expensive and lengthy endeavor for the nearly 500-pound machine, a Siemen’s Acuson 128 XP that Rochas believes is an early ‘90s model. Time and money weren’t the only obstacles that GAIA and their Hope Center Clinic encountered. There were also electric problems, says Rochas, who served as translator for Gerber when she trained staff on the ultrasound. She remembers when they first plugged in the machine, it would automatically short circuit and cause electrical surges that drained the clinic’s energy. Installing an electrical converter and stabilizer, and plugging it in a new socket, fixed this problem. Still, the clinic had to adapt to limited resources and development of their area. Rochas says, “We found [the ultrasound] works better when we shut down a few lights or fans.” These hitches are small compared to the payoff. As a village-based facility, Rochas says the Hope Center Clinic now has HIV care and medicine for expecting mothers. Furthermore, Rochas says the machine has other practical uses for general obstetrics. Rochas hopes that more machines will soon make it to Africa. Even when visiting Bamako’s main medical center, the Gabriel Touré Hospital, Gerber and Rochas were surprised to find only two outdated ultrasound machines in use. Ultimately, Rochas anticipates availability of new innovations in sonography technology. “For us, the ideal situation would be to acquire a portable ultrasound machine because we would avoid shipping costs,” she says. “I think it would also be very helpful if we could have the capability to travel into the commu- nity with the machine.” | Kelly Olsen-Stanko |www.rt-image.com| February 15, 2010 |19| Publication List |
