As with sales of used equipment, ISOs can save providers money on servicing CT equipment. The level and duration of service contracts vary widely as do the terms. Longer-term deals, up to seven years, are more popular lately, as is leasing equipment. Also to save money, some providers are getting insurance instead of service contracts, or getting time and materials contracts instead of paying a monthly fee. Hospitals are also negotiating national contracts through group purchasing organizations to increase their bargaining power.

The OEMs provide a schedule for PMs which any reputable ISO company can provide. Some plans allow the servicer to monitor and intervene for service or repair. Others put the onus on the owner to make the call for service. Yet another negotiable factor is the availability of the service company.


"Our base program includes extended hours. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. is our minimum, and we will certainly go beyond that," said Charles "Chuck" Gauthier, General Manager, Imaging Services, Streamwood, IL, a subsidiary of Shared Imaging. "Our radiology imaging customers are in the same business we are in: they provide a service. They service their physicians in the community. In order for us to enable them to be successful, we have to be focused on their business and do what it takes to keep them up and running."

This is a refrain from many ISOs, who pride themselves on their availability and responsiveness. Most are OEM-trained and have multiple parts sources; many have the ability to test parts on operational systems.

"A smaller company will have flexibility to adjust to any kind of changes that the customer might need, whereas OEMs are rigid and have policies and procedures to follow," said Greg Kramer, President, C&G Technologies, Inc., Jeffersonville, IN. The company has developed advanced quality control procedures including bench testing, system testing, staging bays, and system tests of parts. "A small company usually has more of a personalized relationship and is more eager to jump through hoops to meet special needs of the customer."

Dealing With The Big-Ticket Price of The X-ray Tube

Regardless of service, the most import item to consider in a maintenance plan is the X-ray tube. An estimated 30 to 50% of the cost of a CT and its maintenance is solely earmarked for the X-ray tube, a $100,000 to $200,000 part (and sometimes more) inside the scanner. The degree to which the healthcare provider assumes liability for the tube will determine the cost of the maintenance plan.

More Industry Reports