Economic hazards

One potentially devastating pitfall for facilities looking for the best buy on used devices is timing. The quest for value can be quickly undermined. "Part of your consideration in choosing a vendor is getting the newer equipment in place and underway as fast as possible," Webster insists. "Whether at a hospital and especially in clinics, there are only two things that matter: reimbursement and throughput. I've seen clinics save $5,000 (on the price of a device) and be 2 1/2 months late getting the equipment in place. That $5,000 could have been recouped in less than a week if they had gotten the equipment in place in a more timely way."


Webster routinely is called upon to help facilities determine if the equipment they've selected for purchase is worth the price. His response is bold, but effective. "If you've made the decision to purchase, you must have done the following things: you must have looked at your draw area, the incidence of disease, the current mixture of imaging types that you have coming in on a daily basis and your referral bases.

"You must've analyzed inpatient versus payment and looked at reimbursement over a number of areas, and you must have made the 80/20 decision (getting 80% of your business from 20% of your referral base). Having said that, you've made a decision about growth and that led you, based on your reimbursements over the next five years, to this list. Your assumptions led you to produce a requirement, which led you to vendors to see what they have and if it fits these requirements." Webster pauses. "That's what you did, right?"
Too often the answer is "no." Failure to ask detailed preparatory questions may ultimately be the most dangerous hazard of all.

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