We buy used cars, and we shop for previously owned stuff online. So, does “still works great” work for veterinary equipment, too? It does. The three big reasons to look at refurbished items such as anesthesia machines, monitors and ultrasound units are price, preference and the environment. Price because refurbished costs less than new. Preference because you and your team like a particular model that isn’t manufactured anymore. And the environment because you can pat yourself on the back for keeping a used but perfectly functional piece of equipment out of the landfill.
What do you need to know before going the “gently used” route? We asked representatives from three companies that refurbish medical equipment and sell to veterinary practices.
Where It Comes From
A California company, Medfurbish, purchases and restores everything from autoclaves and endoscopy systems to surgical lights and ventilators and then resells the units, often at half the
cost of the latest retail versions. CEO Brian Tickel said the company focuses on brands and model years with a good reputation earned inside or outside veterinary medicine.
Medfurbish and companies like it can buy batches of equipment at wholesale auctions or from human hospitals choosing to upgrade to the next best thing. A few items filter down from high-tech animal hospitals to clinics with more modest needs and means. Units that can’t be resold as refurbished are scavenged for parts.
“We stick with products we know will be serviceable for at least the next five years,” Tickel said, adding that his inventory is calibrated and tested. “We also make sure all associated accessories are included, and there’s a sticker and a date that shows when it’s been tested and when the warranty expires.”
Veterinary practices sometimes pay Medfurbish for regular maintenance.
“Those service contracts are usually for more high-end equipment, like ultrasound, endoscopy or digital radiography,” Tickel said.
Software upgrades are usually handled between the practice owner and manufacturer, he said.
Medfurbish and companies like his typically provide a one-year warranty.
Saving Money
Avante Animal Health has “anything you need in the OR or exam room,” said Nathan Claypool, the vice president of animal health. The Kentucky company gets older equipment from human hospitals, refurbishes the units and resells to veterinary practices.
“Veterinary and human equipment do much the same things,” Claypool said. “The options in human medicine are the bells and whistles and the FDA certification.”
Many veterinary hospitals are more than happy to have a refurbished unit.
“It’s a value play,” Claypool said. “Someone rented or bought it and used it for a year or two, and now you get it with a new warranty.”
He offered general cost comparisons:
- A $75,000 anesthesia machine for $8,900 used.
- Respiratory ventilators originally selling for $35,000 to $40,000 going for $8,500 when refurbished.
- An $80,000 ultrasound unit? Maybe $30,000 used.
Some veterinary hospitals don’t always need such big-ticket items, but the ones that do appreciate getting human-grade equipment for a fraction of the original cost, Claypool said.
He advised not buying used medical equipment off consumer websites.
“You want to be able to contact the company again,” he said. “You want to make sure they’re really checking the equipment and refurbishing it, not just wiping off a unit and selling it on eBay.”
Fixing Older Equipment
Good products eventually die when manufacturers stop supporting upgrades or replacement parts are impossible to find. That’s where a company like Maryland-based AIV comes in. AIV not only sells refurbished equipment to human and veterinary hospitals but also engineers and produces replacement parts when manufacturers don’t.
AIV’s human medicine division focuses mainly on infusion pumps and fetal monitors. Jeff Taltavull, the vice president of sales and product development, said AIV discovered the veterinary market when practitioners started asking for repairs and parts.
Like Avante and Medfurbish, AIV obtains used equipment from veterinary and human medicine practices and calibrates and tests the equipment.
“The Johns Hopkins-type human facilities with cutting-edge technology are replacing pumps every two to three years,” he said. “But we went to VMX, and my mind was blown. Thousands of attendees were using older units that had been discontinued. We knew we had an opportunity to keep these older pumps alive and get them fixed.”
When Taltavull discovered veterinary hospitals using drip-delivery pumps that were 25 to 30 years old, AIV manufactured replacement parts.
“A lot of the time, it’s just the technician evaluating the pump, the pump spits out error codes, and we replace the necessary parts,” he said.
When it comes to sales, a new syringe pump could retail for $3,000 to $4,000. AIV sells refurbished units for half that price.
Taltavull noted that many busy practices don’t have time for regular maintenance, which means AIV’s repair shop often receives a pump not when it’s due for a checkup and cleaning but when it locks up. A lot of problems with new and refurbished equipment could be averted by keeping up with preventive maintenance, he said.
“In the hospital, you’re busy, something breaks on the pump, but it still works,” he said. “Say, the plastic door holding the tubing set breaks, and you work around it. Eventually, the door won’t close correctly, and the pump gives an error code and won’t work anymore. That’s when it comes to us.”
He advised having a backup plan for when a new or old unit quits. AIV fixes 600 to 700 items a month, so a quick turnaround sometimes isn’t possible, or a loaner can’t be found.
Don’t be the veterinarian who holds onto a trusted piece of equipment a little too long, Taltavull advised.
“Not all things can be fixed,” he said. “An IV pump that first entered the human market 30 years ago and is now being serviced in the veterinary market can only go so long. There’s always a point when things are actually dead.”
SHOPPING AROUND
Refurbished equipment originally used in human or veterinary medical facilities is available for purchase. The day-to-day availability of a particular type or model of equipment varies. The market includes:
- Autoclaves
- Anesthesia units
- CCD imaging
- Centrifuges
- Defibrillators
- Dental units
- Dopplers
- Electrosurgical units
- Endoscopy systems
- Fluid warmers
- Laparoscopy systems
- Lights
- Microscopes
- Monitors
- MRI
- Otoscopes/
- ophthalmoscopes
- Patient warmers
- Pumps
- Suction units
- Tables
- Vaporizers
- Ventilators