Is DEXA Right for You? Reimbursement, ROI, and Rental

If you found this article by Googling "DEXA reimbursement" you may have seen some things on the search page that looked somewhat less than reassuring. We can't disagree- reimbursements do seem to be heading in the opposite direction than we'd hoped. At the same time, bone density scanning is necessary, and someone has to provide it. The question is- does it make good fiscal sense for you to throw your hat in the ring as that provider?

Reimbursement and ROI

If you, or the accountants managing your facility's funds, are looking solely at the dollars and cents through the reimbursement calculator, you may well arrive at the conclusion that DEXA does not make good fiscal sense. At current average pricing for a DEXA system and with the current reimbursement rate of approximately $60 per study, the break-even point is around one patient scan per day for a year, a tall order if you don't have a plan to drive referrals and build a steady schedule.

On the other side of this issue, once your referral base is aware that you offer this service, it may actually boost referrals. There is also a modest, but very real probability that those referrals will result in additional patient services that will be more profitable. The ROI might be a longer time coming than you may have hoped, but is achievable with a sound strategy. With a plan in place and proper management, bone density scanning can be profitable.

In either case, there are a lot of variables at play that may have you feeling like investing in DEXA is a big risk. Fortunately, we have a work-around.

Test-Drive a DEXA

Block Imaging offers 12-month Hologic Discovery or GE Prodigy DEXA rentals so that you can test the benefit of adding the modality to your offerings without making a capital investment that you are "married to". Rental agreements include refurbishment, delivery, installation, applications training for your staff, parts and service coverage across the rental period, and deinstallation in the event that it's not a good fit for you. If offering your patients DEXA services turns out to be a success, you can always extend the rental or purchase the machine outright.

The price for a rental with these inclusions is $2,500 down and $1,475 per month, or $20,200. 

If you're on the fence about adding DEXA, a trial period might be just the thing to help you make your final call. To learn more about setting up a rental, contact us here. Our DEXA team is ready to answer your questions and talk you through what a trial would look like for your site.Aside from the cash savings if things don't work out, renting your DEXA system has some other advantages: If your capital budget has other places to be, by renting your system you're able to apply its costs to your operating expenses budget instead. Moreover, your payments are broken up monthly as opposed to a big deposit followed by a lump sum. Rental also precludes you from any concerns over removing the system or having to resell it.