From the June 2012 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

The task of buying and maintaining refurbished stress test equipment shouldn’t be stressful in itself. Joe Murray, president of Medeco, Inc. and Kenn Matayor, president of Jaken Medical Inc. shared their expertise with DOTmed News on what to look for when buying and how to keep it working for you.

1. Find out where it came from. Refurbished stress test equipment previously owned by a hospital should cost less than refurbished equipment from a private practice doctor’s office, because it was utilized much more in the hospital.



2. Is it really refurbished? Make sure the company you buy equipment from properly and thoroughly refurbishes the equipment. Proper refurbishing of equipment entails more than just wiping it down and giving it a shine. For example, the treadmill has a variety of mechanical and electronic parts that wear out. There are no standards to declare a treadmill refurbished, so a customer would be wise to ask what the seller’s process is. Items to consider would be: cleaning belt rollers; replacing bearings in belt rollers; new, quality walking belt; condition of walking belt deck; repair and calibration for speed and height, and cosmetic reconditioning.



3. Annual service. Many doctors try to save money by skimping on equipment servicing. But by having the equipment serviced at least once a year, that machine’s lifespan will double, saving money in the long run.



4. Archive patient information. A common complaint is the bog-down and eventual freezing of stress test systems. This is because many doctors don’t archive their patient load.



5. Third party support and parts availability. It is wise to consider stress systems manufactured within the last 10 years from major OEMs like GE Healthcare and Cardiac Science. Even if one of these manufacturers pulls the plug on support, independent service organizations can still furnish parts and service.

June 2012 Magazine

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