If your hospital does its own laboratory services, then you know how expensive it is to purchase equipment for it. One chemistry analyzer can cost upwards of $500,000. Not to mention, ongoing reagent, software and service contracts increase the total lifecycle investment in these analyzers dramatically.
Here are 3 facts you should know before entering into any chemistry analyzer agreement:
- Heavy Competition Creates Leverage During Negotiations – There are many different companies that manufacture chemistry analyzers. Johnson & Johnson (Ortho Clinical Diagnostics), Beckman Coulter, Roche, Olympus among others, all sell competing models. Creating a healthy, competitive environment at the negotiating table could help your leverage and bring prices down.
- Be Prepared to Replace Them Before They Fully Depreciate – The average American Hospital Association (AHA) useful life for a chemistry analyzer is five years, and many times they only last three. Due to their short useful lives, many OEM’s and leasing companies provide flexible payment options for analyzers, and it might be worthwhile to consider them.
- Low Resale Values – Many OEM’s that sell chemistry analyzers are notorious for making it extremely difficult to access service, software and reagents for secondary market buyers. As a result, resale values for chemistry analyzers tend to be much lower, on average, than other clinical equipment. It is common for hospitals to take a hit on their balance sheets when it comes to replacement time, so it’s helpful to have a strategy for this, as opposed to being blindsided.
