Asset Recovery: Used Medical Equipment Beneficial to your Facility (and the Green Cause)

Where would we be without medical equipment like CT scanners, MRI systems, C-Arms, and all those other radiology systems…These large systems cost a pretty penny which hinders many small medical facilities from acquiring them.

Fortunately, we are increasingly witnessing many big hospitals shedding their excess inventory these days as they adopt more cutting-edge technology. This presents a golden opportunity for their smaller counterparts to buy these used and refurbished imaging equipment at a cost that is within their reach.

Still very much useable

This is not to mean they are going for obsolete technology, not at all. Just happens that large, well-funded hospitals have to upgrade their equipment every once in a while to be au courant with the latest technology. In other words, the asset disposition program leads to imaging equipment that needs to find a new home or be sent for disposal.

Often, these assets are just a few years old and gently used which means they still have a way to go.

The used assets can either be sold in an as-is condition or be refurbished, but whichever the case, you’ll often find the equipment is top quality and in a state likely to serve your facility for years to come. By the way, the money aspect aside, buying these assets helps keep them away from the landfills thereby saving the environment.

So, what happens if the equipment can’t be resold? In such a case, it needs to be taken apart and either sold as scrap or sent to the landfills. Considering the size and weight of a typical MRI machine, this is a lot of material we are talking about.

Often times, the marketplace does not facilitate for cost-effective prices for components of these high-end consignment leaving no other option but to send to landfills. This, despite the fact that many of these components can be recycled or sold as scrap metal.

Always Ask

For smaller hospitals and medical facilities, this is a chance to acquire what would otherwise be a very costly investment at a knockoff price. Equipment they wouldn’t be able to acquire in the first place.

That said, it pays to make your inquiries of any availabilities in case your medical institution is in the hunt for one. One popular go-to place is an asset recovery company that deals in the same.

As we speak, the acceptance of refurbished imaging equipment in the US is above the proverbial roof. And not just in the US alone. Medical facilities in other countries are also getting on board as they have realized this kind of investment leverages their balance sheet to the maximum while at the same time ensuring they contribute to the Green movement. The days of ‘We only buy new’ are long gone.

Just make sure the asset recovery services firm you’re dealing can be relied upon to offer competitive prices which should be around half of the original price on average.