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Using refurbished medical equipment offers countless benefits to both medical practices and its patients, as we’ve outlined in our blog.

Today we wanted to share an interesting case study that demonstrates exactly why choosing to utilize refurbished medical equipment can add to your company’s bottom line, as well as ensure your patients’ safety is a top priority.

Lake Charles Memorial Hospital —Serving an Increasing Population

The natural gas industry in Lake Charles, Louisiana is taking credit for causing an uptick in its local resident population. To meet the healthcare demands of this growing community, Lake Charles Memorial Health System decided to make a significant investment in technology, particularly diagnostic imaging equipment. Their mission was to provide healthcare to more patients with top-notch, reliable equipment, not break the bank with surging budgets, as well as be mindful of environmentally-friendly options.

Scott Daigle, the administrative director of Radiology at the hospital said, “Our patient load is growing an average of 26 percent per year. We’re a 24/7 facility, and we’re just as busy at night as we are during the day. That’s why we have to have dependable equipment. And the more the population grows, the more equipment we’ll need.”

The CT supervisor at Memorial, Tommy Broussard, poignantly described the situation, “Uptime is everything. If just one of the three CT scanners we have goes down for any length of time, we’re backed up for at least a day. So we need service and equipment we can count on.”

And Richard Martinez, physician and medical director of Radiology added, “We’re looking for a quality, reliable piece of equipment that meets our needs. It has to be safe, current, proven, and complete with the essential imaging features we need, plus the ability to upgrade.”

By going with an eco line of refurbished equipment, Memorial met all of its goals, and even they were surprised by the affordability of their investment.

Deciding on Refurbished Equipment

When the time came for Memorial to strengthen its radiology capacity, they tackled a significant amount of research to determine the best choices. After siphoning through several proposals, they ultimately decided on using a refurbished line manufactured by Siemens. This decision was not taken lightly; substantial savings coupled with an environmentally-friendly choice while not compromising on the latest technology was their driving motivation.

It’s no surprise that the Radiology team was nervous to procure previously owned medical equipment. In the past, Memorial used a pre-owned system and experienced trouble with that equipment; it turns out that it wasn’t actually refurbished. A vendor needed to replace essential parts, and understandably, the hospital wanted to avoid unnecessary downtime again.

The decision-makers at Memorial understood that Siemens had an ecoline, which essentially meant they would be receiving a new piece of equipment. Daigle shared, “It’s got the refurbished name on it, but it’s been torn apart and put back together. It’s been serviced, it has the newest software, and it’s upgradable. It has everything that the new machines have. You’re getting it at substantial cost savings, and there is no difference in output quality for patient tests.”

Affordability Without Compromising Quality

Radiology equipment is expected to produce excellent images, and function consistently. After experiencing their refurbished equipment, the Memorial physicians and techs rated its quality as though it is new.

Case in point, the medical director of Radiology says that he can’t tell the difference. “When I’m reading the images, I usually don’t know which machine they were done on unless somebody tells me,” explained Dr. Martinez. “That’s where the rubber meets the road. For our interpretations, when we’re reviewing images on either ecoline or new Siemens equipment, they’re the same.”

In case you missed it, be sure to check out our guide on how to go about securing refurbished medical equipment, and what questions to ask the provider.

Managing and maintaining a medical practice comes with risks — both financial and legal liabilities. Here are the top 4 reasons why utilizing refurbished medical equipment is a smart strategy to curb expenses while practicing safe medicine.

This month, we peeled back the layers of leveraging Section 179’s tax code — from understanding what it is, how to cash in on it, and when the qualifying timeframe is eligible to use the deduction.

To round out this educational series, we are highlighting how to go about financing and leasing equipment, as well as using the Section 179 calculator in order to estimate your potential savings.

At this time of year, many people are busy thinking about travel plans for Thanksgiving to see family, as well as bracing themselves for holiday gift shopping. But for business owners and those responsible for the bottom line at their place of employment, they are busy thinking about closing out the year by maximizing tax savings.

Section 179 is an IRS tax code, which — in its very nature of being a tax code — can sound intimidating. However, the truth is, the code is pretty straight forward. This tax code simply enables businesses to use deductions on the full cost of qualifying equipment, either purchased or financed, during that calendar year.

Our healthcare industry is both a substantial contributor to the global health crisis, as well as deeply troubled by it. It is uniquely situated to lead a revolution on both a community level as well as a planetary level, from land development, food, chemicals, and energy usage.

Sustainable health advocates believe that endeavors to safeguard and increase our health will not be successful if we don’t direct concerted efforts toward ecological, social, and economic adversities.

According to Practice Greenhealth, a nonprofit membership organization created on the principles of positive environmental stewardship and best practices in the healthcare sector, healthcare represents 18% of the U.S. economy, and 10% of the global economy. Healthcare undoubtedly has the ability to make a positive transformation on communities and commerce.

With political campaigns ramping up and candidate debates taking center stage on primetime television, it comes as no surprise that healthcare is a hot topic now more than ever. It is, after all, one of the most relevant social and economic concerns in the United States.

Surveys indicate that voters continue to be frustrated with inflated drugs prices, rising out-of-pocket expenses, and grim health insurance benefits.

Most projections indicate that Democrats will fall short of taking senate control next year, much less meet the 60-vote supermajority that is needed to pass Medicare for All (without a filibuster). Republicans haven’t been shy about sharing their intentions to unanimously vote against the bill.

The Democratic House has a progressive agenda regarding healthcare, but the laws presiding over healthcare are most likely going to stay as is.

More and more, medical procedures are being conducted in outpatient facilities vs. an inpatient setting. Mammogram screenings and cataract procedures may not come as a surprise, but many patients would rather have their total joint replacement surgery done in ambulatory centers than in a hospital. This is because of the convenience factor, a lesser burden on the wallet, and overall easier experience.

The gap between inpatient and outpatient net revenue continues to close in. In the 2019 Hospital Statistics report, the American Hospital Association shared that hospitals’ 2017 outpatient revenue was $472 billion. By comparison, the inpatient revenue was nearly $498 billion.

The age-old expression…the landscaper always has the worst-looking yard…means that we tend to pour ourselves into our professions, but don’t necessarily give ourselves the same TLC. The same can be true for physicians. In this month’s blog content, we discussed the burnout epidemic among medical workers, as well as ideas on how to combat the mental, emotional and physical demise of healthcare staff. 

Fortune 500 companies invest in coaching to encourage behavioral proficiency of their current leaders and leaders-in-training. Personal development and leadership coaching have become mainstream in recent years.

Respected, world-renowned coaches such as Tony Robbins, John Maxwell, and Rachel Hollis are plastered all over social media, podcasts and stand on stages in front of tens of thousands of “students.” It’s time to invest in coaches for physicians who are deserving and very much need some attention in the self-care department.

Improving the patient experience, patient health outcomes, and process efficiency — also known as the Triple Aim — may have a name change coming in the future. That is if the focus is expanded from solely improving patients’ well-being, to also improving the well-being of those who care for these patients.

The Quadruple Aim would include medical and healthcare support staff, showing an interest in advancing their overall experience, too.

The Triple Aim is a top focus among caretakers, including doctors, nurses, and other segments of the healthcare workforce, but it is no secret that there is universal burnout among employees who pour themselves into taking care of others.

This dynamic leads to decreased patient satisfaction, which can lower the outcomes for their patients, and it potentially increases costs due to inadvertently making mistakes. Expanding from a Triple Aim to a Quadruple Aim would improve the mental and physical wellness of clinicians and support staff.