Medical Equipment Rental

Concept: Hire-Purchase, Leasing,

Reagent Rental
Pros:
Lower upfront costs compared to purchasing with capital budgets; using OpEx instead of
CaPex; offers more liquidity
Address specific clinical needs where demands fluctuates over shorter time periods, without making
long-term financial commitment
Hedge against technological obsolescence
Zero (or lower) maintenance and repair costs
Ease of disposition
Cons: 
Payments over time could be higher than outright purchase of the medical equipment itself
Cannot claim tax deductions for depreciation on medical equipment
Lack of control / flexibility
Medical equipment rental: Different options available
Hire-purchase (capital lease)
• allows you to pay off the full amount for your medical equipment (plus interest) over a defined
period (installments). Gains ownership at the end of term. 

Leasing (operating lease)

lower monthly payment compared to hire-purchase. Ownership of the medical equipment belongs to
leasing company. Can enter second term of the contract if wishes to continue using the medical
equipment at the end of term (usually at lower fee, negotiable)

Reagent-rental
• cost is usually based on a cost per reportable test, but sometimes is based on total test count. The
price paid per test covers the cost of the instrument, services and consumables for the term of the
agreement. But there is no ownership change at the end of the period

Other variations available such as rent-to-own, $1 buyout, etc (all depends on agreement)
Medical equipment rental: Which option to choose?

How long will the medical equipment be used? 

What is the available monthly budget?
Do you want to have ownership of the medical equipment?
How soon will the medical equipment become obsolete?
What is the expected test volume? 
Which equipment can be Who are the providers?
rented?

Manufacturer

Some examples only, not an exhaustive list

Managing rental medical equipment
At times, rental medical equipment are not managed efficiently – due to lack of visibility in
existing inventory. Might led to overestimate rental needs or create unnecessary competition
for imbalanced availability of medical equipment in facility. 
For better management:

Establish clear lines of communication and responsibilities between different stakeholders 

such as biomedical engineering teams, medical equipment managers and nursing leadership to
maximize availability and reduce unnecessary costs
Standardize equipment management processes in how equipment is stored, located, and
prepared for patient use to better monitor inventory level and demand 
Improve clinical asset inventory data and visibility by leveraging inventory management systems
and expertise in medical equipment maintenance to achieve better inventory tracking, reducing the
risk of oversights and unnecessary rentals
Implement lean rental processes to rent only when strategically sound, and standardizing prompt
returns of rentals once immediate needs are resolved to reduce operating expenses