Insights On Renting Medical Equipment

By Lila Bryant


With the shrinking margins in the practice of medical services, the individuals and institutions engaged are becoming heavily concerned. This is, to a great extent, contributed by the high cost of investment, particularly in acquiring the sophisticated machines and tools entailed. The high initial investment is just out of proportion, coupled with their high rate of depreciation and obsolescence. Yet to be able to offer the most attractive and satisfactory services to clients, some tools are indispensable. It is due to this reason that there is a paradigm shift towards renting medical equipment.

One can rent a wide variety of these instruments. Some of the tools you can rent include surgical implements, MRI machines, EMR software, computers, X-ray and ultrasound machines, imaging and diagnostic instruments, surgery tables among others. However, before embarking on this agreement, it is important to consider some vital factors, as illustrated below.

To begin with, it is important to first of all carry out a lease vs. Buy analysis. The analysis enables you to be sure that you are engaging in the best financial decision. The process entails comparing the item prices across different major manufacturers, against lease quotes obtained from numerous medical tools leasing companies.

In order to undertake a complete financial analysis, ensure to gather all your pertinent financial information into one place. The data is then used to analyze the viability and feasibility of a particular investment. Gathering the data is particularly important as it enables you to identify and estimate the incremental cash flows associated with the investment. Incremental cash flows simply mean the additional expenses and revenues as a result of the investment. This indicates how a single investment will improve the overall performance of your business, as opposed to a mere analysis of whether a particular investment is profitable on its own.

Although many businesses usually stop here, this should not be the case. You should further evaluate the data with other such analyses as break even, payback value and net present value. The long term and short term implications of a given investment can only be evidenced through this evaluation, including the payback period.

While comparing a buy versus rent decision, you should put in mind that the rate of the lease, is determined by some other factors, some within while others beyond your control. An example of a controllable factor is the rental period. Consider the duration of rent and the financial implication associated.

The frequency of repair of the concerned item must also be considered, together with the kind of lease to be adopted. The service schedule (the frequency and convenience of repair) of the tool ought to be put in mind. A good deal should entail fewer repairs, with the service being undertaken on-site. Leases can also be classified as capital and operating. Capital leases have capital allowances, with residual ownership of the equipment while, operating leases are purely rental agreements. As such, capital leases are relatively expensive.

Simply put, the decision process whether to rent or buy a medical equipment relies more on ascertaining which option will be more beneficial to your practice; the bottom line; evaluate how the investment fits with your general business plan, compare it to alternative opportunities in your practice and determine whether it will be profitable on its own while improving the present and future overall financial performance of your practice.




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