ORLANDO — The faltering economy, decreased medical reimbursements and rising medical insurance rates aren't bad news for everybody.
Orlando-based Amber Diagnostics has seen a jump in its orders for used medical radiology equipment such as CT scanners, mammography machines and bone densitometers.
Orders have increased by 41 percent to reach $3.5 million, up from $2.9 million in orders for the same period last year.
Refurbished equipment makes up 40 to 45 percent of Amber Diagnostics' business. The company also does equipment wholesale, parts sales, consumables such as X-ray film and chemicals, as well as repair and maintenance service.
The company attributes the surge in orders to cost-cutting measures being used throughout the health care industry.
"Everyone is trying to save money due to decreased reimbursements and escalating insurance rates," says Bobby Serros, company president and CEO, who started out in the medical equipment business by buying and selling bedpans.
Even renowned medical centers are turning to used equipment as a way to stretch their budgets. The company recently sold refurbished high frequency radiology suites to both Harvard Medical School and Duke University School of Medicine.
"Refurbished equipment, if done correctly, is as good as new equipment," says Dr. Wei-Shen Chin, an Orlando radiologist with Medical Center Radiology Group. "Some of it isn't as fast as the new stuff, but if you're not doing that many patients, does it matter if it takes a minute longer? Buying some of the newest equipment is like buying a NASCAR race car to drive on I-4 — you're not going to do that."
Chin says his radiology group usually buys new equipment, but has bought used stuff, as well. "It depends on what you're getting for the money and what you're using it for," he says.
Still, he predicts even hospitals that currently buy only brand new equipment soon will turn to some used medical equipment "because reimbursement rates keep going down."
"You no longer can buy a $2 million scanner to see two patients a day," says Chin. "And if you can do the same thing with an older machine, why buy a new one?"
Amber Diagnostics appears to be at the front of a growing trend.
"I see many other companies getting into used equipment," says Julie Morris, vice president of RTPortal.com, a Carlsbad, Calif.-headquartered firm that matches prospective buyers and sellers of used medical equipment. "People who do good quality refurbished equipment are likely to do well. There's obviously a market for it."
Serros adds that while selling remanufactured radiology equipment always has been a strong aspect of his company's portfolio, it is becoming even more popular during these tight financial times.
For example, while a new helical CT scanner costs some $300,000 to $400,000, a refurbished one runs between $89,000 to $190,000.
The surge in orders has led 10-year-old Amber Diagnostics (http://www.AmberUSA.com) to hire five more service and production engineers, bringing the company's total number of full-time employees to 24, up from 10 workers in 1999.
The company currently is located in a 25,000-square-foot remanufacturing facility at 820 W. Gore St.
"We are looking for some larger space now," Serros says. "It's a good problem to have. I remember 12 years ago when the phone barely rang — and when it did, it was just my wife."
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