DOTmed Industry Sector Report: Dialysis

by Kathy Mahdoubi, Senior Correspondent | December 15, 2009

Just how much cheaper is used dialysis equipment over new? Jeff Ambrose, president of
DiaMedical USA out of West Bloomfield, Mich., says refurbished systems can save providers as much as 80 percent on costs.

"It's tremendously cheaper," says Ambrose. "Depending on the level of reconditioning that somebody wants, you can buy a machine that is patient ready and working and you buy a machine that you'd be comfortable providing a three-month warranty or one year parts warranty. There are so many different levels that these reconditioned and refurbished machines are being sold at."

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Ambrose says that the model most in-demand is the Fresenius 2008 K, which is also the hardest to come by. International sales are also on the upswing. Some areas of growth include India, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Africa.

"Very often you're getting people who have the intention of developing a dialysis clinic internationally," says Ambrose.

Dialysis makes inroads

This increasingly consolidated industry looks to be making a change toward improving not only the health but quality of life of patients by advocating home treatments and by developing technologies that save time and that can provide a real-time means of determining how to optimize in-center hemodialysis treatments. Money may be tight on the reimbursement horizon, but as long as dialysate flows, so will this business.