Should You Buy a Used Linac Over a New System?

Medical-grade Linear accelerators are investments, not an impulse buy. That being said, a linear accelerator is a very important tool in any oncologist office. Owners of a medical oncologist clinic have the option of purchasing a new linac system or invest in a used system, and there are advantages and disadvantages for both. You can essentially break the parameters into three (or more) situations:

Your Office Space

The space and size of your medical office or clinic is a good factor when deciding to go either used or new for a linac system. Smaller clinics will benefit from a used system, especially those with a small client-base that don’t move through more than a handful of patients a day. This also pertains to offices that are new and just getting started, or established offices that are small in space. Offices and clinics just starting up can go with a used system at first and upgrade to a brand-new system when the profits call for it.

Your Intentions

Not all offices and clinics revolve heavily around the use of a linac, but rather use it sparingly. This is a simple reason to go with a used system over a new one. Operating these systems can get expensive, and offices that heavily use a linac system with all the bells and whistles accompanying it have better use for a shiny new device. Conversely, those offices or clinics that only use it sparingly can go with a used model that is more stripped down to a model precisely tuned for their needs. You also may be a new office with the intention of having a higher-level model in the future, but current-day budgets don’t allow it, which calls for a more budget-friendly used system.

Your Experience

Is your office or clinic moving? Do you have any intention of moving in the next year or so? Are you generally a busier clinic with many patients? New linac systems are great for busier and more modern clinics but for those with the need for backup units a used system is better to keep on hand for when a new system breaks down, especially with all the parts that go into such a device. Similarly, if you’re a clinic that has plans to move everything it may be easier for the future if you go with a used system that will be installed only to be uninstalled for a big move. Even higher-tiered clinics can find themselves moving, so this is something to keep in mind when setting up a clinic initially when starting up.

Medical grade linear accelerators are a product in which all oncologist clinics should be investing. That being said, making a purchase can be smarter when going with a used system rather than new; it just depends on your office space, intentions with the system, and overall experience of running your clinic.

Radparts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts for Linear Accelerators and Radiation Oncology equipment.  Radparts provides high quality, user friendly, low cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. More information can be found at https://www.radparts.com/.

Outsourcing Medical Equipment Maintenance

Medical facilities need to depend on outside medical equipment service providers when in-house service specialists are not on staff.  Regular maintenance, including preventative and corrective measures, needs to be done to keep medical equipment safe and running smoothly.  Updating software and worn parts adds to the longevity of medical equipment thus resulting in savings for your facility.

Many facilities try to cut corners by having personnel perform regular maintenance and minor repairs.  While this may occasionally work it is always better to enter into a service contract with a third party service company or equipment vendor to perform corrective and preventative maintenance.  A service contract will ensure that your equipment is maintained at regular intervals.  This will help to combat against unexpected machine failures.  There are several options when choosing a service contract.  We will look into the options below.

Third Party Equipment Service Contracts Available To Medical Facilities

• 24/7 Full Coverage: A medical facility can request services anytime, day or night.
• Business Hour Coverage: With this type of service contract a medical center will receive service during normal business hours, five days a week for eight hours a day.
• Extended Business Hour Coverage: This service contract offers the same coverage as business hour coverage except that it covers more than eight hours.  If your facility is open from nine in the morning until nine at night this would be one of the contract options to consider.
• Extended Business Hour and Weekend Coverage: Similar to the above except it adds hours to cover facilities on the weekend.
• Preventative Maintenance Coverage: This type of service contract only covers planned maintenance and does not cover unplanned corrective services.
• Time and Material Coverage: A time and material coverage contract is where a service provider is paid based on the actual cost of parts and labor used. This contract is usually based on a specific cost per hour of labor.
• Loaner Service Contract Coverage: This type of contract allows medical facilities to return the unit to the vendor and the vendor provides a loaner unit until the equipment is returned to its original state. This is a difficult service contract to have in place with large scaled equipment such as linear accelerators and ct scanners.

In our next installment on medical equipment service contracts we will discuss tips on negotiating a contract that best meets your facilities needs while maintaining a reasonable budget.

Cutting Costs Without A Decrease In Quality

Medical centers are always looking for ways to cut costs when it comes to maintaining, repairing and purchasing new equipment.  This article includes the top ways that hospitals and medical facilities can cut costs while continuing to improve quality care and patient outcomes.

The best way to save money in any industry is to continuing using the equipment that is already owned.  It is common for medical facilities to outsource medical equipment support services.  Using external service providers while having reliable support in house, otherwise known as clinical engineers, keeps equipment running at peak performance.  Simple in house adjustments and simple repairs can save a tremendous amount of money.  Not only are you saving on the cost of outsourced vendor services but also on the costs associated with any downtime experienced with medical equipment failure.

Support can be provided in a number of ways including in person and remote services.  Instead of assuming your issue can only be resolved by having a technician come out to your facility ask about less expensive remote services.  Many repairs can be accomplished through a remote technician.  Through the remote session the technician can diagnosis if the equipment can be resolved with simple tweaks or if service personnel are needed on site.  Most medical equipment vendors can offer support remotely twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.  Many times on staff clinical engineers can even repair equipment with the support of the remote operator.  The nature of remote services allows the vendor to support more than one client at a time thus costing less for remote services.

Instead of working directly with the original equipment manufacturer, OEM, consider getting support from trusted third party medical equipment repair support service specialists.  Working with OEMs tends to be more costly and take significantly more time then services using a third party vendor.  This is a simple way to have necessary services performed on equipment while maintaining patient care.

One of the most effective ways that medical facilities can save money when it comes to large, specialized medical equipment is to make sure that regular maintenance is performed.  Imaging equipment including linear accelerators and ct scanners are known for having particularly long life cycles.  It is in the best interest of facilities to take advantage of this benefit.  Scheduling proper maintenance and timely repairs allows facilities to get the most out of expensive medical equipment.

Radparts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts for Linear Accelerators and Radiation Oncology equipment.  We provide high quality, user friendly, low cost parts support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment.  For more information on low cost parts for repairing Linac equipment find us at http://www.radparts.com.

Proper Maintenance and Care For Medical Equipment Part One

Medical equipment is costly and often requires a great deal of budgeting to purchase.  Even if the facility is able to find refurbished medical equipment it should be assumed that it will be rather pricey.  Gently used medical equipment that has gone through stringent refurbishing is one way that facilities can help cut costs.  It is important to remember that proper maintenance and regular care of refurbished medical equipment is as important if not more important than that of brand new equipment for medical use.

Proper maintenance and care is crucial for equipment that is used in the treatment of patients.  Daily use wears equipment down quickly.  In order to achieve the best results for patient care equipment must be kept functioning properly.  If equipment is not maintained facilities run the risk of constant malfunctions and breakdowns leading to a decrease in customer care which makes the practice seem unreliable.  Here are some valuable maintenance and care tips to help get your facility on the right track.

Appropriate Management

The way that facilities care and use medical equipment daily will predict how long the machine will last.  Improper use of sensitive medical equipment on regular basis will set the machine up for malfunction and failure.  Medical equipment should only be used as directed by the original manufacturer.  When medical equipment is used in a way that is not recommended there is a greater risk of harm to the patient as well as to the equipment operator.

Follow Manufacturer Procedures

When medical equipment is purchased, whether it is new or refurbished it is crucial that the manufacturer’s instructions on proper use and maintenance are included.   The manual will show a plan for regular diagnostics, updates to software and will advise facilities on hiring professional technicians to inspect and care for the equipment. It is important that the manufacturer’s guideline is followed. This will ensure that machine failure and snafus are kept to a minimum.

In the next installment on maintenance and care of medical equipment we will discuss contracting medical technicians, in house maintenance and warranties.  It is important to protect your investment.  Medical equipment is expensive and not easily replaced.  With the main objective of medical facilities being reliable, affordable patient care it is crucial that each piece of medical equipment is kept up to date, running as expected, providing proper diagnostics and keeping patient care at the highest level possible. 

Radparts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts for Linear Accelerators and Radiation Oncology equipment.  We provide high quality, user friendly, low cost parts support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment.  For more information on low cost parts for repairing Linac equipment find us at http://www.radparts.com.

Maintaining Equipment While Sticking To A Budget

In the field of radiation oncology there is always a constant battle between bringing the best treatment options to patients while maintaining equilibrium to the budget.  In this latest installment we will continue to look into strategies that can help medical facilities that are struggling to find ways to reduce oncology costs while working to maintain quality.

In our last article we looked into purchasing refurbished linear accelerators and CT scanners to reduce the initial expense of large scaled medical equipment.  Today we will look in to two different cost saving ideas: using existing equipment longer and contracting independent oncology equipment repair specialists to repair and maintain radiology equipment.

When facilities hold off on large purchases, such as buying a linear accelerator, it allows them to allocate their budget into other areas such as patient care, facility upkeep and the medical team itself.  The downside being that the latest technology available may not be in use.  That issue can be addressed in numerous ways such as regularly updating equipment software and performing regular maintenance tasks.  When performing these in conjunction with one another, facilities find that they can keep up with the upgrades found in newer equipment.

It is imperative that all equipment within the facility meets all of the manufacturer requirements for maintenance.  When maintenance is being performed on any large or small oncology equipment it is necessary that it is done by individuals who have been trained to service the model that is in use.  This is an absolute necessity.  Not all radiology equipment is created equally and therefore need to be serviced by professionals knowledgeable of your exact models service maintenance requirements.

Another strategy that can be employed for reducing oncology costs is to hire an ISO to maintain and service equipment rather than locking into an unnecessary contract.  An ISO can offer a substantial savings while ensuring service on demand at a lower cost.  The upsides of hiring an ISO are plentiful.  Not only can it save the facility money but time.  Time is of the essence when maintenance or repairs are performed on large scaled medical equipment.

When hiring an independent service organization take time to ask the following questions to make sure that the priorities of the ISO are similar to those of your medical organization.

• What is the estimated response time to respond to service needs? Can they provide references to match their response?
• Are there any guarantees on response time?
• Is support available 24/7 Are there extra charges for after hour support? What type of training is done to provide technicians with the latest skills necessary in maintenance and repair for newer technology?
• Can we choose between using new radiology parts or refurbished components when repairs and maintenance are being performed on our linear accelerators, CT scanners and other radiology equipment?
• Is testing and calibration done in accordance to OEM standards? Will service history be documented and kept on file to ensure compliance with the OEM standards?
• What are the hourly service charges? Does the facility pay for travel time?
• How long has the ISO been servicing oncology equipment? Are FDA and state vendor regulations met?

It is important for hospitals, medical facilities and specialized radiation oncology treatment centers to look for ways to decrease expenditures without sacrificing patient care.  Healthcare facilities must ensure that this is done in a manner that is compliant with industry standards while seeking to increase client satisfaction.

Radparts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts for Linear Accelerators and Radiation Oncology equipment.  We provide high quality, user friendly, low cost parts support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment.  For more information on low cost parts for repairing Linac equipment find us at http://www.radparts.com.

Curtail Equipment Expenses While Keeping Up With The Latest Technology

Nothing is inexpensive when it comes to purchasing equipment for medical use.  Medical facilities are in a constant battle to decrease expenses while maintaining quality.  This is especially difficult when it comes to radiation oncology where cutting edge equipment, such as linear accelerators and CT scanners can easily cost millions of dollars.  It is essential that facilities search for different ways to reduce expenses and cap costs.

In the following installment we will discuss three different options medical facilities both big and small can provide top notch services to stay competitive without sacrificing the delivery and quality of care.  One way that medical facilities seek to do this is by purchasing refurbished linear accelerators and CT scanners.

Medical facilities can curtail equipment expenditures while keeping up with updates in technology, improving safety, providing more precise treatments and streamline work flow by budgeting for and purchasing refurbished equipment.  This is an extremely attractive alternative to purchasing brand new equipment especially when you can arrange to procure similar models to what is currently being used in your facility.  Using similar model equipment to what is already in use saves money on training.  It also reduces the amount of time that is usually lost when adopting to a new piece of equipment.

Refurbished equipment can offer the same performance and reliability as new equipment at a discount.  Choosing a reputable supplier that specializes in radiology equipment while also offering installation and maintenance services medical facilities save a great deal of money without any sacrifice.

Before seeking to purchase new refurbished medical equipment it is imperative that the decision makers in charge of purchasing get answers to seven very important questions.  These include:

• Can we purchase refurbished equipment? If so, what is the process of refurbishing that the radiology oncology equipment we are seeking goes through?  Are the parts thoroughly tested?
• Should we be able to expect that the refurbished medical equipment, either a linear accelerator or CT scanner, perform according to the manufacturer’s original specifications?
• Will the equipment comes with any warranties or guarantees covering parts and labor?
• Will the supplier that the refurbished oncology equipment is purchased from also be able to perform the installation? What about future maintenance?
• What has the overall reaction to this model been? Have facilities that are using this model reported any ongoing issues?
• Do they have a radiation test cell? Will full beam testing be done prior to installation within the medical facility?
• What is the company’s reputation in the industry? Are you able to speak with other medical facilities that have been provided refurbished equipment and services from the supplier?

In our next installment we will continue looking into ways that medical organizations can save money when looking into reducing expenses in their medical equipment budgets while keeping up-to date with advances in technology in the field of radiation oncology.

Radparts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts for Linear Accelerators and Radiation Oncology equipment.  We provide high quality, user friendly, low cost parts support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment.  For more information on low cost parts for repairing Linac equipment find us at http://www.radparts.com.

Hiring Professionals To Maintain and Repair Medical Equipment

Most individuals experience a sense of confidence when it comes to making repairs to their personal items. Some car owners enjoy doing their own automobile repairs. The same is true of many homeowners; they thrive on being capable to keep up on the maintenance and improvements that need to be made around their homes. It is important for many individuals to do this type of work on their own because of the money it saves overtime. Think about the amount of money that could be saved if you didn’t need to hire a mechanic or contractor each time something wasn’t working.

Do-it-yourself maintenance and repairs are not always so simple in other areas. Once such field that requires experts is when medical equipment needs to be maintained or repaired. In order for a professional to be trained to repair equipment throughout medical facilities such as linear accelerators and CT scanners they will need a specialized education. This can be obtained through many community college or vocational schools. Individuals that service medical equipment are referred to as biomedical equipment technicians.

Some hospitals or medical facilities will have a full time staff member that is equipped to handle all of the maintenance and repairs that need to be done throughout the facility on large scaled medical equipment. They are on staff and available to fix malfunctioning equipment immediately. However, in many circumstances hospitals and medical facilities are functioning on a budget therefore relying on biomedical equipment technicians who work on contract or are available for on call service.

Immediate response to medical equipment repairs is necessary. Patient’s lives rely in this equipment to be up and running properly for treatment and diagnosis. If machines are functioning improperly or not at all nurses and physicians risk making critical mistakes. When individual lives are at stake there is absolutely no room for any errors especially from the machines that set out to help them. In the health field, biomedical technicians and the work that they do are critical to the day to day operations of the facility.

It takes quite a few people throughout medical facilities and hospitals to keep the everyday flow running smoothly. Medical equipment that is operating properly allows radiologists to offer patients proper diagnostics and treatments. It takes many trained professionals to ensure that medical equipment is in proper working order. Routine maintenance and proper repairs made the first time around by trained professionals has a significant contribution to the overall health and wellbeing of patients.

Radparts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts for Linear Accelerators and Radiation Oncology equipment. We provide high quality, user friendly, low cost parts support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. For more information on low cost parts for repairing Linac equipment find us athttp://www.radparts.com.

Benefits Of Outsourcing Medical Equipment Repairs

In medical facilities there is a great debate when it comes to outsourcing and the hospitals bottom line. Leaders within the biomedical equipment repair industry agree on the overwhelming advantages that come with outsourcing.  The advantages of outsourcing discussed within this article also apply to several other departments within the healthcare industry.  In order to achieve long term goals amongst deep budget cuts medical facilities must create a solid foundation in asset management across the board including medical equipment service strategies.

Three Major Benefits of Outsourcing Biomedical Equipment Repair and MaintenanceStrategies

Lower Operating Expenses:  This seems like an obvious benefit of outsourcing but many individuals overlook it when evaluating the concept on a whole.  Outsourcing allows medical facilities to retain less personal, reducing operating expenses while increasing the results gained through experienced vendors.  Without the need to hire and train these highly specialized personnel resources labor and operating costs can be reduced.

Outsourcing leaves the vendors responsible for providing highly skilled, trained individuals to repair medical equipment at a moment’s notice.  These services can be paid for on an as needed basis instead of the facility being required to pay the salary and ongoing benefits that they would need to pay a full time biomedical equipment repair specialist.  Thus saving the facility the expense of recruiting, training and the exceptionally expensive extras involved in maintaining a staff of professionals to maintain, care for and repair specialized equipment similar to linear accelerators and CT scanners.

Quality: With the ongoing changes and growth in the technology of medical devices it is crucial to have access to biomed service technicians that are up to date on training and available immediately.  Qualified technicians are vital in keeping life saving equipment functioning properly and providing accurate test results.  Outsourcing allows medical facilities to contract skilled biomed equipment repair specialists to accurately maintain, efficiently diagnosis and repair equipment in a timely manner thus keeping life saving equipment functioning properly.

Capital Budgeting: In order for all businesses to function and grow it is vital that medical facilities, large or small, manage all of their assets, including personal, in an efficient manner.  It is crucial that in-house programs as well as those that are outsourced are prioritized.

There are so many ways in which it makes sense to outsource the area of biomed equipment repair services including lower operating expenses, quality technicians while assisting medical facilities of all sizes to remain vital and competitive.

Radparts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts for Linear Accelerators and Radiation Oncology equipment.  We provide high quality, user friendly, low cost parts support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment.  For more information on low cost parts for repairing Linac equipment find us at http://www.radparts.com.