With the increasing demand for innovative technologies in the healthcare industry, many hospitals especially the startups are faced with budget cuts that make them unable to upgrade their medical equipment matching with such demand. At the same time, hospitals are being asked to reduce wait times, improve patient outcomes and provide a higher standard of healthcare than ever.
To meet these standards as well to fulfil the demand for medical equipment, hospitals are resorting to buying used medical equipment online to save their costs. However, buying used medical equipment is not an easy task as it involves making large purchases. Here’s how to go about buying used medical equipment for your hospital.
Reasons hospitals opt for used medical equipment
In India, used medical equipment is said to be covering nearly 1/4th to 1/3rd of the total medical equipment market. Such medical equipment can be purchased in about 35 to 65 per cent less than buying an original one. To keep the cost of setting up hospitals low and getting reasonable returns, hospitals usually opt for buying used medical equipment. Major reasons behind opting for buying used, second hand or refurbished medical equipment include:
- Due to the remaining life of the used equipment which is at least another 5 years. Such as X-ray machines can be used for up to 15 years. Thus, an x-ray machine that is 8 to 10 years old still has a residual life of up to 7 years.
- Due to the high value or expenditure of buying new equipment which hospitals mostly cannot afford.
- When the actual usage or utilization of that particular equipment is likely low.
Asking the right questions before making the purchase
Before purchasing used medical equipment for your hospital, you must ask the right questions so that you can come up with an accurate decision. These questions include:
- What kind of medical equipment you will need to improve your services?
- Where do you see your industry going in the next five years? Is the money which will be required to purchase the equipment available in your hospital budget or you will need investors?
- Is it worth to invest more to get extra features that this equipment will provide?
- Is your in-house team capable enough to properly service your purchase? Is the in-house staff qualified enough to work on maintenance or does the hospital have to spend in outsourcing the maintenance of the equipment?
- Is there any warranty on the equipment that you are purchasing? Can the repairs needed in the equipment be done quickly or the warranty provider is offering loaner equipment to reduce the downtime of repairs?
- Is the supplier trustworthy? Has any reputable authority registered them?
- Will your supplier help you with the delivery and installation of your purchase or will there be any extra charges for such services?
When you are making the final purchase
You need to research to find the right provider for your hospital. While researching follow the below-mentioned points:
- Research for potential sellers on the internet. Find a reputable online seller that only specializes in selling used medical equipment.
- Pick your supplier with full caution. Know if the company is reputable and their relationship with the manufacturer as to whether they are partners or authorized distributor.
- Know the long term and short-term vision of the supplier company and their core belief behind running the company.
- Know about all the key dealers who are selling used equipment and compare their pricing.
- Find out the current market price, current working conditions, depreciation value as well the other costs such as cost of maintenance and transportation cost of the used equipment beforehand.
- Find the supplier that best suits your budget and offers you credible after services.
Buying used medical equipment requires a thorough inspection as it affects the health and well-being of your patients. Therefore, you must always consider the above-mentioned factors before making the final purchase. Not every hospital can afford to purchase brand new equipment and going with the used ones can be an affordable way to go with providing high-quality services to the patients.
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