The other day I received a phone call from someone I have known for almost 40 years. He sells monitors to physicians for use in their offices and told me that he lost a sale to a Chinese monitor that costs $700, which is a fraction of what he would sell a U.S. made one for.

I am not sure why he was calling me because I am no monitor expert. He just remembered that I had done a lot of business in China in the late 70s and early 80s.

He did not know — and neither did I — what happens if the monitor breaks.
Who fixes it?

I wonder if it matters if the price is that inexpensive. You could just buy another one.

Neither of us knew whether or not the units worked as well, or how to deal with spare parts.

As I say, I am no expert on monitors but I have to believe that the units that are made in the U.S., Western Europe or Japan are probably more expensive because they are better.

My question is less about what equipment costs and more about how it affects healthcare.

If equipment manufactured in these new markets is not as good, will accuracy suffer?

Would I be just as comfortable if my treatment plan included a budget monitor or centrifuge or even ultrasound machine?

I do not want to single out China because there are a lot of markets where the manufacturing firms are still getting their act together.

Whether you are a critic of the Affordable Care Act or not, I sure hope that lower quality equipment is not an unintended consequence of a larger and aging population.

That is all for now.

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