Having quality medical equipment to meet the needs of patients and staff is essential to a well-run practice or hospital. For this reason, selecting new medical equipment for a facility is a choice you shouldn’t take lightly. There are many factors to consider when choosing medical equipment, and you should keep them all in mind when you’re making this crucial choice.
Experience of Supplier
In today’s vast medical supply market, it’s important to be able to find a competent supplier. They should be able to not only provide quality equipment, but also explain the subtle differences between machines in order to recommend which will best meet your facility’s needs. It’s a good idea to examine the supplier’s reputation to determine whether they have provided good service and equipment in the past.
Age of Machine
Generally, newer equipment designs are recommended for hospital settings when possible. New equipment is usually designed with the most recent medical knowledge in mind, and it’s more likely to have parts available in the case of repairs. There are times when it’s perfectly safe to purchase older equipment, but facilities should look to see if older machinery for sale is remanufactured or refurbished. When an old machine has been refurbished, it was simply cleaned and repaired to operational status. If a machine is remanufactured, it was restored to like-new conditions through a more rigorous process. This will ultimately affect the quality and longevity of the medical equipment you’re purchasing.
Functionality
Not all equipment is suited for all purposes. Some equipment will be better suited for a wide variety of care situations. Other equipment will be better suited to very specific scenarios. It’s important to examine the specific needs of a facility and the subtle differences between equipment of a certain type. These differences will determine how well a piece of equipment will serve a facility, and they’re important to consider when you’re choosing medical equipment
Financing Options
Some facilities have the budget to purchase new equipment outright. For those that don’t, there are numerous options for financing the purchase of medical equipment. Some suppliers offer payment plans to ease the initial burden of purchasing new or re-manufactured equipment. Another option is to find a supplier that offers the option of renting or renting-to-own. Facilities should examine their own budgets to decide if they should buy or rent medical equipment.
