4 Ways to Reduce Medical Equipment Service Costs

When it comes to medical imaging equipment, everyone wants to protect their investment, but no one wants to pay the high prices that can sometimes come along with a service contract. The good news for everyone is that there can be a balance: reliable maintenance coverage with a price tag that’s not quite as intimidating as a typical package service agreement.

When shopping around for a service agreement that fits your needs and your budget, the following four tips will help you reduce your medical equipment service costs:

Four Ways to Save on Imaging Service

1. Multi-Year Agreements

Most independent service organizations (ISO) will give a discounted rate per year if you agree to buy coverage for multiple years. Think of this as buying in bulk. The more years you buy, the greater this discount is likely to be.

2. Multi-System Agreements

This type of agreement works on the same principle as the one above. If you buy coverage on more systems, the ISO will charge you less per system. For even more savings, you can combine #1 and #2.

3. Coverage Options

If there are elements of your equipment maintenance that you feel comfortable handling, some ISOs will remove those services from their boilerplate service contract and reduce their pricing. For example, if you just recently replaced the CT tube on your scanner, it is less likely to fail. Coverage for this part of the CT could be a service feature that you could cut out to net some savings. If you have an in-house biomedical staff, you may also want to consider a parts-only agreement where the ISO covers failed system components and your own engineers handle the installation of the replacement part.

For those facilities with the highest risk tolerance, there's also the option of receiving your service on a time and materials basis. While you won't be billed until you actually use labor or parts, it helps to contact a provider in advance and get your facility set up in their system for faster response times when the time for service comes.

See Block Imaging's Service Options Here

4. Advance Payment

If you have some cash available, this option is an easy way to reduce your maintenance costs. By paying more now, an ISO will reduce the price you pay overall. Moreover, the amount of your discount will increase in proportion to the percentage of the total contract cost you pay up front.

The Takeaway

Some ISOs offer more of the options above than others, but almost all offer one or two to help customize service pricing to your needs. If you'd like to learn more about these options and how they can work together to make a plan that fits your needs, our team is ready to help. Use the button below to tell us about your equipment!