Current economic and lending conditions could affect manufacturers of all types of medical equipment, including urodynamic equipment. With the economy on unstable ground and massive impact on lending availability in the marketplace, Urologists, Gynecologists and urology clinics that have been considering purchasing urodynamic equipment are reconsidering.

During the economic climate that is facing the US and the world, it is quite possible that there will be a significant increase in the number of Americans who lose their employment, resulting in loss of their employer provided medical insurance. What does this mean to the medical marketplace, urology clinics, OB-GYN and urologist practices? It could mean many things, including:

1) A significant portion of the population will be without any form of insurance and finding enough patients to warrant the purchase of new urodynamic equipment will be difficult at best.

2) It could also mean that the government will step in and provide some form of watered-down or catastrophic-only insurance. Given the political climate, this is a likely outcome.

These two possible scenarios could mean that a large portion of urologic and urodynamic procedures will not be authorized, or if they are, reimbursements could be reduced to lower levels. In these scenarios, the investment required to purchase a urodynamics machine and other related urodynamics equipment is making many Doctors wait. Rightly so…

Urologists and Gynecologists could be facing a situation where they will be understandably, very hesitant to make significant investments in equipment. It is likely that we will see a massive decrease in equipment sales and a moderate increase in revenue to outsourced urodynamic testing services.

Following are some of the average costs involved with purchasing urodynamics equipment:

Average cost of urodynamic equipment is $19,000
Average cost of urodynamic training is $2500
Average cost of urodynamic supplies is $60 per urodynamic study.
Average cost of urodynamics labor is roughly $50 per urodynamic study.
Total Average cost per urodynamic study is $110.
Average reimbursement per urodynamic study is $950

Additionally, many OBGYN and Urology clinics are also taking into account the significant nuances related to urodynamics and how important it is to have highly experienced urodynamic technicians conducting the studies.

Where does this all leave the marketplace? Outsourcing. When we say outsourcing, it can have a negative implication such as in the manufacturing and customer service industries that have sent American jobs overseas by the thousands. In this case, outsourcing your urodynamics testing simply means that you have a professional service provide the expertise, the staff, the equipment and supplies. All services are performed in your offices, with your patients.

Many clinics in this economic climate are taking another look at urodynamic equipment purchases and deciding to outsource.