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Reliability is huge.
Above all, make sure you have a solid maintenance program. I'm the biggest
proponent of working with maintenance contractors my vendors know. To me,
that just makes sense. The key with any expensive piece of equipment is don't
just run it until it breaks. If it starts performing poorly or sounding weird, act
quickly. You pay way too much for equipment and maintenance to not have it
working at all times.
5. Refurbished options
Sometimes you can get lucky and find a refurbished machine that suits all your
needs. In fact, we're using refurbished machines in a couple of our centers right
now, and they've worked out well. They have the same warranties, the same
availability of parts, the same maintenance plans, and so on. All of these things
are negotiable, and if you happen to find a good unit, you can expect consider-
able savings compared with a comparable new one. But the market is hit or
miss. Few high-quality, used C-arms become available, and when they do, they
move quickly and it's first come, first served.
OSM
Mr. Alexander (
john.a lexa nder@orthoca rolina .com
) is the radiology systems admin-
istrator at OrthoCarolina, an orthopedic practice based in Charlotte, N.C.
I N T R A O P I M A G I N G
