Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology

On February 18th, 2015 General Electric announced a recall that may include your GE MRI system.  This “field corrective action” covers it total install base of 12,968 MRI systems installed worldwide. 

When it comes to sales of refurbished medical equipment, Latin America is getting on the bandwagon.  Rising employment levels and economic growth, greater access to healthcare insurance, chronic disease incidence and heath care reforms are just a few of the factors behind this.  Let’s take a quick look at the factors in specific Latin American countries.

Seems like every time we turn around, science fiction is becoming a reality. There’s talk of a drone that can explore Mars. Cars can park themselves. And yes, now there’s a CT scanner that can show users animated 4D (yup, more than 3D) models of organs, blood vessels, soft tissues, muscles, vascular structures and bones. In real time. Thank you, GE Healthcare.

So you want to sell some of your existing medical imaging equipment. Or maybe you’re even thinking about using your current equipment as a trade in for something newer.   How do you go about it? How do you know who to do business with? How to you determine the selling price or trade-in value of your equipment? What kind of timeline from offer acceptance to equipment removal date is appropriate?

In significant parts of the world, and America in particular, people’s pets are often considered part of the family. It’s common for pet owners to spend thousands of dollars on healthcare for their animals, including fees for CT Scans, MRIs, C-Arms, Ultrasounds and general X-Rays… money that they don’t spend on dream vacations, better vehicles, and other creature (no pun intended) comforts. It’s also common for wealthier individuals to spend exorbitant amounts on their pets’ care, just because they can.

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Do you know the difference between used and refurbished medical imaging equipment? Does anyone? I decided to look online and see what people’s comments and questions were. I was surprised—and not surprised—by the level of confusion out there. Some people thought that “used” means the equipment is still working and can be sold again. Some thought “refurbished” means the equipment is broken and scratched, then cleaned up and repaired and sold for lower price. Others thought that used equipment was sent back to the factory for minor repairs and was then wrapped in plastic and sold as refurbished.

It was a different world in 1915.The House of Representatives rejected a proposal to allow women to vote. Germany launched the first Zeppelin attack over Great Britain. And the first meeting of the Western Roentgen Society was held in Chicago, with 62 charter members on hand from 17 different states.

So, the time comes where you are replacing an existing CT, MRI, C-Arm, Mammography, etc. imaging system. In most instances, the OEM vendor (e.g. GE, Siemens, Philips, Toshiba, Hitachi, etc.) you select to provide your new system offers you a trade-in value for your existing system. While there are situations