Digital Marketing

5 Guidelines for Deciding What Medical Equipment to Buy

Putting up a dermatology, cosmetology, or plastic surgery clinic is an expensive undertaking. Medical equipment comprises a significant portion of the expenses of establishing any type of aesthetic beauty clinic. As such, nobody should and would take choosing medical equipment lightly.

Before you get in touch with your medical equipment supplier, consider the following guidelines when choosing your medical equipment.

1.    Vital and Essential

You can easily get carried away when you’re shopping for medical equipment. Wouldn’t it be just lovely if you could be the clinic with the most modern equipment for miles around? You can boast about only having the latest, the newest, and the most cutting-edge medical equipment.

That would be great indeed. However, this alone cannot justify buying expensive medical equipment. The first criterion should always be: Is it vital and essential?

Vital equipment and supplies refer to equipment and supplies that must be present for your business to run. Essential equipment and supplies, on the other hand, are highly important to business operations. Anything else that is non-vital and non-essential should not make it to your medical equipment shopping list.

To identify equipment and supplies that are vital and essential to your operations, you must be clear about your clinic’s focus.

If your clinic’s “reason for being” is body shaping and slimming, then equipment like VelaShape III, Cooltech, and TruSculpt Flex make sense. An Ultherapy machine, while it may bring with it a wow-factor and brand-name recognition from your clients, is non-essential to body slimming services.

It’s a different matter if your clinic specializes in facial treatment services such as facial lifting and rejuvenation. In such a context, facial treatment equipment like Ultherapy will be right at home in your clinic.

To sum up, buy only equipment that is vital and essential to your operations. Leave out anything that does not fulfill this requirement.

2.    Necessary Replacement

If you are shopping for medical equipment to replace an old one, first consider if a replacement is necessary.

Reasons for Replacement

These reasons will justify buying replacement medical equipment.

  1. Your old equipment is no longer working and repairing it is cost-ineffective.

This is obvious, but it must still be said. If your existing equipment is damaged or is no longer working as expected, you can still repair it. However, you should not waste any more money on it if the cost of repairing it is significant.

The rule of thumb asset managers follow is if it costs more than 50% of the cost of new equipment to repair a piece of broken equipment, it’s probably best to buy a new one.

You should also consider how often the equipment breaks down. While a one-time repair cost may be insignificant, repair costs will add up if the equipment frequently breaks down.

  1. Your old equipment is not cost-efficient.

Is your old equipment costing you more in person-hours? Does it cost you more in opportunities lost? When you cannot accommodate clients because your old equipment is clunky or slow, you can calculate how much you’re losing in sales and compare it to the cost of new equipment.

If your operating costs and opportunity costs are significant, you may find buying replacement equipment practical.

  1. Your old equipment is obsolete.

Your equipment, even if it’s still working, may be technically obsolete. This happens when the equipment manufacturer no longer manufactures the consumables, accessories, and parts that your equipment needs to operate or provide optimal results.

  1. Your equipment poses a danger to your clients and personnel.

You should definitely replace equipment that has become a source of risk for your personnel and clientele.

Choosing a Replacement

When replacing old equipment, naturally, you want something more state-of-the-art. Technology advances by leaps and bounds, and medical equipment is not exempt.

For your dermatology clinic specializing in facial treatment services, you’d want to replace broken-down equipment with the newest and the best that your budget can afford. You will be justified in replacing your old facial treatment equipment with the FDA-cleared Ultherapy machine, which uses micro-focused ultrasound to lift the skin on the neck, chin, and brow and improve the appearance of wrinkles on the chest.

3.    Appropriateness

Of course, you want the most advanced equipment you can afford. But state-of-the-art equipment is useless if you or your staff cannot use it. Therefore, when buying medical equipment, make sure that it is something that you and your team can use.

First and most importantly, it should be equipment you use in procedures you and your staff are licensed to perform. Second, make sure that the equipment is not too advanced that you and your team will find it difficult to master its use.

You want equipment that is easy to learn how to use even though it’s the most advanced and the newest equipment around. And you want to get your equipment from a medical equipment supplier who provides in-depth equipment handling training as a matter of course.

4.    Quality

For the well-being of your consumers and your clinic’s reputation, you want high-quality medical equipment and supplies. You want original, authentic equipment that has the FDA stamp of approval, for instance.

All other things being equal, well-known brands are better. Reputable brands typically have proven track records and a reputation built on customer satisfaction. They will also have a following among your intended clients.

As a shortcut, choose a reputable medical equipment supplier that sells only the highest-quality equipment. They would have a curated collection of high-quality equipment, and this will make selecting your equipment significantly easier.

5.    Value for Money

When buying medical equipment, evaluate the price of the equipment in the context of its quality. You want to calculate the value for money rather than just the mere cost of acquisition.

You see, you want a balance of cost and quality. Specifically, you want a reasonable price considering the quality of the equipment you’re procuring. Also, you can take advantage of equipment finance loans available if you’re looking to upgrade your existing equipment or acquire new equipment.

Ready to Buy Medical Equipment?

 

When deciding on medical equipment and supplies, first consider your clinic’s needs. If you’re buying replacement equipment, make sure to evaluate whether or not a replacement is necessary. Additionally, you should factor in appropriateness, quality, and value for money.

Piyushi

Blogger By Passion, Programmer By Love and Marketing Beast By Birth.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button