From the December 2014 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


Replacement is at least one part of the equation. “Some of the shared service providers are looking for more refurbished stuff,” says Smith. “They want to put the newer systems on board but any way they can save a few dollars and cents, they go for that.”

Growing international demand
For developing international markets, the diagnostic value of MR and CT make them increasingly necessary. Shared mobile platforms represent one way to lower the cost. “It’s our intent to expand internationally and probably have a European presence,” says Bachman.
For Medical Coaches, markets in South America and the Middle East have yielded significant business. They have been working with the Brazilian market for over thirty years; a country Smith says has had great success utilizing mobile imaging to bring access to rural areas.

“I have been approached by different dealers who work with refurbished equipment,” says Smith. “If they’re going for the high end stuff they usually work through the vendors.” Logistically, Smith says it’s relatively simple to get the paperwork together and freight a modality overseas, but that shipping can sometimes be cost prohibitive.

Bachman says shipping MR systems with liquid helium in them can cause complications and in the case of a Siemens or Philips MR that’s built in the Netherlands, he thinks in those cases it will make more sense to load the trailers after they’ve taken their transatlantic sea voyage. That kind of service is something his company intends to look into.

Rural areas are in it for the long haul
While fixed site MR and CT have become standard in many parts of the country, rural communities with smaller patient population and limited resources remain a viable market for traditional mobile solutions. MonDak Imaging Services, owned by Montana Health Network and Northland Health Care Alliance, has been providing such services in rural Montana and North Dakota for over a decade.

“We started because our locations were small enough; didn’t have the volume needed to support MR,” says MonDak’s CEO, Janet Bastian, “So we’re able to move the equipment around and provide services to facilities that wouldn’t be able to buy their own.” She estimates there are roughly 150 miles between the hospitals her company serves.

While most of MonDak’s clients are accustomed to the mobile protocol, new clients may occasionally have compatibility issues. “They have to put in the plugs or have a cement pad — we need a very solid place to park,” says Bastian. “If they haven’t got mobile already, the power pull is the prohibitive piece pulling power from some street a block away, for instance—that can be very expensive.”

December 2014 Magazine

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