Dale Hockel, vice president of clinical engineering services at TriMedx, which provides healthcare equipment services for clinics, hospitals, imaging centers and surgery centers, lists three great ideas for negotiating warranties from equipment manufacturers.
1. Ask for only one year for labor. In this arrangement, the warranty would cover labor on the equipment for just one year and parts for longer. One year for labor would allow the facility to train its own in-house repair team for the equipment. "You'll need the one-year coverage to get your repair guy trained," Mr. Hockel says.
2. Ask for an extended warranty for newer technology. For several years after new technology is introduced, manufacturers are still learning how to service the equipment and there are not many parts available aside from what the manufacturer provides. Therefore it makes sense to extend the warranty for a few years.
3. Consider having no warranty at all. Not taking the warranty sounds risky, but if done right, it can work well and it lowers the price of the equipment. "It's not just a matter of having a high degree of faith in the vendor and its equipment," Mr. Hockel says. It also involves setting up someone at the facility who can repair the equipment. "That makes the warranty redundant," he says.
Learn more about TriMedx.
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