"Cardiac vascular attacks are the number one killer in the nation," notes Dennis Holloway, director of the Cath Lab at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, FL, a leading specialist in the cardiac field treating from 4000 to 5000 patients annually.

Sarasota Memorial has four Cath Labs, two EP Rooms and one Outpatient Cath Labs with two rooms. All of the above is carefully monitored by the Siemens Guardian Program which uses various alert systems to continually monitor all Siemens equipment in real time.


Holloway is not a huge fan of re-furbished anything when it comes to Cath Labs.

"While re-conditioned equipment might have its place among a start-up clinic or doctor's office where cost is a factor, in a hospital setting, we need 100 percent reliability," Holloway explains. "We must be trust-worthy. An intervention lab can't have any kind of break down."

Among DOTmed readers who answered our recent questionnaire asking when a pre-owned special procedure suite was appropriate versus a brand-new one, Carl Hoffman, president of Blue Ridge Medical Imaging in Salem, VA suggested there was no one answer "because there are so many variables." According to Hoffman, when some hospitals need an extra room for overflow, when the present system is failing and facility needs a special suite, and when tight budgets dictate, a pre-owned suite makes sense.

On the other hand, he agrees that most major hospitals and teaching institutions usually purchase new equipment.

"They want the latest and greatest even if there is no significant increase in image quality," Hoffman adds. "Sometimes, that's for their image and sometimes to attract certain doctors. Or the facility may have had a bad experience buying used or improperly refurbished equipment."

Peter Chen, president, Global Medical Equipment of Harleysville, PA, agrees.

"Pre-owned is for a hospital in a developing country or for a doctor's office," Chen says.
Adds Chris Hogan, president and owner of MEPS Inc. of Gallatin, TN, "A lot depends on the size of the facility and services offered, and whether a pre-owned is going to be a back-up or a primary system. Also, whether it's a combo system (cath/angio) or dedicated cardiac or angio also plays a role."

"We mainly provide hospitals with replacement parts," notes Ralph Frizzle, president of GECO (German Electronics Company), a big provider of Siemens parts.

"Third-world countries would benefit from pre-owned or businesses or doctor offices with budgetary concerns."

Frizzle notes the dollar variables are not small. "We have certain labs that can be upgraded for $200,000 versus millions for something totally new," he explains. "The key is camera and tube upgrades since image quality deteriorates over time."

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