Ron Smith, of Lifeline Biomedical in Nashville, TN, agrees.

"The market is strong! With the state of reimbursements, doctors and administrations are looking to upgrade older units with newer equipment, but need to be frugal in acquiring same."


Adds Alan Avitt, sales manager, Display Resources, Inc: "Smaller clinics and doctors' offices now can utilize equipment never before available to them."

"The market for used is strong as always, especially the parts market insists Mitchell Guier, broker, North American Medical, Sweet Springs, MO. "Manufacturers stop making specific models and BioMed departments are scrambling to service the 50 monitors they still have in service."

Randy Lowers, president of L&R Services in Miramar, FL, takes the opposite view.

"Recently, I see the market as weak due to the fact that many manufacturers from abroad are starting to sell product here in the USA at cheaper prices then we are accustomed to. Also, domestic manufacturers are quick to make a product obsolete after a short selling period. One manufacture I won't name will sell something, support it 100 % for five years, and then discontinue parts production. This makes selling their products refurbished and/or used harder because the seller cannot support the product for a warranty unless they have an inventory of their own."

Having said that, Lowers acknowledges a 32 percent increase in total sales for refurbished or used ECG/EKGs, the only medical monitors he deals with.

"It all comes down to price," says Charles Moore, president of Moore Medical Sales & Service, Cartersville, GA. "Manufacturers are starting to discontinue certain models. The industry is pushing for new equipment because they make more money. Plus, the Japanese are dropping their prices on new items, in order to get into the market. Mindray (Chinese) is very cheap but parts are a real problem."

Poor operator performance also throws a wrench (literally) into how new equipment becomes problematic and in need of repair.

"Never use a monitor without proper training from a vendor," says Robert Keller, president, Travelmed, Northridge, CA. "Malfunction can be due to several issues such as testing and training," he says, adding, "A monitor should be operator friendly, as easy to operate to avoid human mistakes from a non-understanding operation."

"Operators of monitors and EKGs are the biggest problem in the field," Randy Lowers says. "Ninety percent of my service calls are due to operator error." Biggest issue is getting operators to understand that ECG's work with electric current, and that measurement can be skewed by body jewelry, scars, even interference from the operator.

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