Used Medical Equipment Discussion about reconditioned medical equipment

Starting in January 2011, all US doctors who have medical imaging equipment onsite must disclose how much revenue they stand to gain from referring Medicaid and Medicare qualified patients for certain services, such as advanced imaging diagnostics like CT scans and MRI. Doctors must also let patients know about alternative providers of these services. These new parameters are all a part of the new Health Care Reform laws.

According to a report from the Center for Studying Health System Change, 16 percent of all practices with one to two doctors lease or own their lab equipment and 7-9 percent lease diagnostic imaging medical equipment such as x-rays or advanced imaging machines. It is obvious that the policymakers behind recent changes in Medicare are concerned when physicians may have a vested interest in making more referrals than medically necessary. The report also mentions the Stark Act of 1992, which essentially prohibits physicians from referring Medicare patients for testing at their own office’s in-house clinical lab.

While there are numerous restrictions to the Stark law, including the use of clinical lab equipment in the office itself, these restrictions may prevent many physicians from deciding to purchase used diagnostic imaging equipment. As these laws take effect, and physicians start to feel the effects of fewer Medicare reimbursements, they may choose not to offer certain tests in the office.

According to the new Health Care Reform laws, it looks like Medicare will move away from traditional “fee for service” payments to a broader reimbursement model, making it less advantageous for physicians to offer medical equipment diagnostic services. It may be too early to tell how much these new laws will impact the medical community, but they may ultimately make it more difficult for seniors to get the care that they need, all in one facility.

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When it comes to new technology, the medical equipment industry is always looking for ways to improve. As a result, any state-of-the-art facility must keep up with the latest standards in patient care. Even when their current equipment is still working perfectly and several years away from being obsolete, medical facilities and hospitals often find themselves buying brand new medical equipment. Unfortunately, their need to stay on top of new trends in surgery and diagnostics has driven many healthcare facilities into bankruptcy. The only way around this is to sell their current medical equipment and use the proceeds to fund new technology for the hospital. This may sound complicated, but it is actually quite simple to do.

By offering both buyers and sellers an easy way to interact and a proven method of acquiring or selling medical equipment, sites like Absolute Medical have helped many medical centers control costs and get top quality equipment. By taking one of the biggest expenses for any medical facility and turning it into a potential profit center, this online marketplace has developed a win-win business model for the healthcare community.

Doctors and purchasing agents can learn all the details about a specific piece of equipment before making a purchasing decision, and they can even learn how to use it. Online and telephone support personnel are familiar with the equipment and able to make informed recommendations to buyers. Everything on the site is easily navigated and categorized, allowing users to search by the type of equipment they want, and narrow their search from there.

At Absolute Medical Equipment, for example, they offer a 100% secure shopping environment with excellent customer service and a no-hassle return policy. They can also ship used or new equipment anywhere in the world.

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Even as the global economy struggles to rebound from the biggest financial crisis in decades, medical equipment manufacturers continue to release diagnostic and surgical equipment with more advanced technology than ever before. Clearly, there must be a budget somewhere for these high priced machines, but oftentimes it is not with the regional hospital or medical center.

Because their reputations depend on having the latest technology, the big-name hospitals in major metropolitan areas are usually the first to buy the newest devices. And when they do, many of them sell their used medical equipment – which is sometimes barely broken-in – in an online marketplace. The advantage of being able to buy used medical equipment is two-fold; it allows hospitals to update their facility’s equipment less expensively while giving the seller a small profit on their old equipment. Buying used medical equipment is a creative solution for hospitals and medical offices to maintain their high standards of care.

However, with countries like China and India going through a prolonged expansion, they are making the used medical equipment marketplace more competitive. As a result, some medical equipment auctions are becoming too expensive for the average US buyer. The only way to level the playing field is to set a price up front and allow medical equipment buyers an equal opportunity to purchase the equipment on a “first come, first served” basis.

As more hospitals see budget cuts in 2011, the demand for used medical equipment will steadily rise, especially for higher-end equipment that is relatively new. The most popular medical equipment to be found online is in the diagnostic area, which includes EKG machines, CT scanners, ultrasound machines, bone densitometers, x-ray machines and the like. Sales of veterinary and dental equipment are also sold online through used medical equipment dealers like Absolute Medical.

Technorati Tags: Medical Equipment, medical supplies, Used Medical Equipment, used medical supplies