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Why has the price of used medical equipment in the US increased?
It is well known that the acquisition of new medical equipment maintains a very high cost worldwide, so there is the possibility of buying pre-owned equipment in "As Is condition" or "Re-conditioned".
Many of the health care centers don't have the necessary resources to purchase new equipment. For this reason they take the option of buying those that have been previously used by hospitals or Diagnostic Centers in the US. These instruments are efficient as well as fulfill the purposes for which they are intended. Its decreased price is due to several factors: years of use, current condition or replacement of tubes or other parts in the case of Diagnostic Imaging equipment.
Buying remanufactured or used medical equipment is not synonymous with quality. The biggest difference that they imply with respect to new instruments is the cost of them. It is important that the background investigation is carried out before the acquisition and check with the supplier if a technical inspection was carried out with all the information in this regard.
But .......
How does the costs increases?
1.- Equipment inspection It should be noted that taking into account that technical inspection has a cost such as sending a specialized Technician, that his expenses may include staying in another State of the American Union, transportation, hours worked, etc., it entails an investment of time and money, which usually exceeds US $2K and that in most cases the buyer is not willing to assume.
2.- De-installation It is possible that the same Technician carries out the de-installation obviously for an additional cost for more hours worked
3.- Packaging Here comes another specialized company that uses wood, (which has increased its price by 80%), plus working hours.
4.- Transportation to Miami or the MX border As a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, when many transport companies stopped their work, drivers could not be found and the increase in the price of gasoline, transport rates increased up to 100%. At the moment there are no stable rates and we have to resort to requesting quotes every time we have equipment to transport.
For this reason, it is not that the companies that sell medical equipment have increased their profits, many have left the market, others have closed their warehouses and others have laid off staff in order to sustain themselves. I hope that you, our esteemed customers, have made it clear why prices have increased.
Digital radiology can be defined as computer-based X-ray technology that instead of acetates as used in the past, now uses digital images. In this way, hospitals can save costs and produce quality studies that can be used for diagnostic and preventive purposes.
Traditionally X-rays had to be chemically processed in a method similar to that used to develop photographs. But now, with the advent of digital radiology, technicians use digital sensors and X-ray equipment to capture internal images.
How direct digital radiology works?
Direct detection systems use a conductive material (usually selenium) which is applied on top of an array of thin-film transistors. This way, when it comes to image transmission systems, direct radiology (DR) is used, of course, which uses active matrix flat panels that consist of a detection layer deposited on an active matrix. thin-film photodiodes and transistors.
Difference Between CR reader and DR
CR (Computed Radiography) It is a system that uses existing X-ray equipment. It replaces conventional chassis with others that use a phosphor plate sensitive to X-rays.
DR (Digital Radiography) It uses a sensor that takes the image directly and passes it to the computer.
Digital Radiology
At Medical All Services you can find Fuji, Agfa, Canon and other brands CR and DR readers
¿Por qué se ha incrementado el precio de equipos médicos de uso en los EEUU?
Es de todos conocido que la adquisición de equipos médicos nuevos mantiene un costo muy elevado a nivel mundial, por lo que existe la posibilidad de comprar equipos en la condición de “como están” o “As Is condition” o reacondicionados “ Re-conditioned”
Muchos de los centros de salud no cuentan con los recursos necesarios para la adquisición de equipos nuevos. Por tal razón toman la opción de comprar aquellos que hayan sido previamente utilizados por hospitales o Centros de Diagnóstico en los EEUU.
Estos instrumentos son eficientes como también cumplen con los fines para los que están destinados. Su precio disminuido se debe a varios factores: años de uso, condición actual o reemplazo de tubos u otras piezas en el caso de equipos de Diagnóstico por Imágenes.
Realizar la compra de equipos médicos remanufacturados o usados no es antónimo de calidad. La mayor diferencia que implican con respecto a los instrumentos nuevos es el costo de ellos.
Es importante que se realice la investigación de los antecedentes antes de la adquisición y consultar con el proveedor sobre si se hizo una inspección técnica con toda la información al respecto.
¿Cómo se incrementa el costo?
1.- Inspección del equipo
Cabe destacar que teniendo en cuenta que esa inspección técnica tiene un costo como es enviar un Técnico especializado, que este costo incluye estadía en otro Estado de la Unión Americana, transporte, horas laboradas etc., trae consigo una inversión de tiempo y dinero, que usualmente sobrepasa los US $2K y que en la mayoría de los casos el comprador no está dispuesto a asumir.
2.- Desinstalacion
Es posible que el mismo Técnico lleve a cabo la desinstalación obviamente por un costo adicional por más horas laboradas
3.- Embalaje
Aquí entra otra compañía especializada que utiliza madera,( que se ha incrementado su precio en un 80%), más horas de trabajo.
4.- Transporte a Miami o a Frontera con MX
A raíz de la pandemia de Covid 19, cuando muchas compañías de transporte pararon sus labores, no se encontraban choferes y el incremento del precio de la gasolina las tarifas de transporte se incrementaron hasta un 100%. Al momento no hay tarifas estables y hay que recurrir a solicitar cotizaciones cada vez que tenemos un equipo para transportar.
Por esta razón no es que las Compañías que venden equipos médicos hayan incrementado sus ganancias, al contrario muchas han salido del mercado, otras han cerrado sus depósitos y otras han despedido personal para poderse sostener.
Espero que a ustedes nuestros estimados clientes les haya quedado claro el porqué se han incrementado los precios.
