What is IAMERS up to?
February 18, 2015
by Philip F. Jacobus, CEO
Diana Upton, president of the International Association of Medical Equipment Remarketers and Servicers (IAMERS) has reached out to the Remanufacturing Industries Council to collaborate and establish remanufacturing standards for medical equipment. I am not sure yet if this will apply to all medical equipment or just diagnostic imaging equipment but either way, I think established standards is a good idea.
Whether you are working with a customer on an install, servicing equipment or outlining roles and responsibilities, it is important for everyone involved to understand what the expectations are and to be on the same page. Setting these standards accomplishes that goal. My compliments to Diana for coming up with this idea.
I hope that IAMERS or the industry in general can also establish rules as it relates to equipment that comes out of service. For instance, in the case of a pre-owned automobile, there is a 300-point checklist used to review a car. If the car passes, it is sold as certified pre-owned. It seems to me that if a CT scanner has been maintained under a service contract, then it may or may not need to be refurbished before it is used by a new owner. The same might be true of an ultrasound machine or even an MRI.
In the end, my experience has taught me that there is a market for new equipment, a market for refurbished equipment, a market for equipment that has been well-maintained and is just out of service and a market for equipment that is used for spare parts.
IAMERS, just like the rest of the market, has members in all of these categories and I hope that a protocol for all of these levels of condition can be established.
It is easier for me to buy a new car if the car I already own has value and the same holds true about capital medical equipment. An active market for all kinds of equipment will result in more sales of new equipment. It may also help hospitals to better-serve patients since they will have more access to getting the equipment they need.
Either way, it is great that IAMERS is making progress in this area.
Whether you are working with a customer on an install, servicing equipment or outlining roles and responsibilities, it is important for everyone involved to understand what the expectations are and to be on the same page. Setting these standards accomplishes that goal. My compliments to Diana for coming up with this idea.
I hope that IAMERS or the industry in general can also establish rules as it relates to equipment that comes out of service. For instance, in the case of a pre-owned automobile, there is a 300-point checklist used to review a car. If the car passes, it is sold as certified pre-owned. It seems to me that if a CT scanner has been maintained under a service contract, then it may or may not need to be refurbished before it is used by a new owner. The same might be true of an ultrasound machine or even an MRI.
In the end, my experience has taught me that there is a market for new equipment, a market for refurbished equipment, a market for equipment that has been well-maintained and is just out of service and a market for equipment that is used for spare parts.
IAMERS, just like the rest of the market, has members in all of these categories and I hope that a protocol for all of these levels of condition can be established.
It is easier for me to buy a new car if the car I already own has value and the same holds true about capital medical equipment. An active market for all kinds of equipment will result in more sales of new equipment. It may also help hospitals to better-serve patients since they will have more access to getting the equipment they need.
Either way, it is great that IAMERS is making progress in this area.