ENDOSCOPE GUIDE
Clean Is In Your Hands
Photo Courtesy Spectrum Surgical
requirements. Liability-in-Transit insur-
ance should also be included. If a vendor
cannot provide adequate liability insur-
ance, select another repair vendor.
8. Optimal pricing
Negotiate a win/win. Evaluate your ser-
vice contract and negotiate fees or rate of
repairs. If a service contract is put into place,
it is important to stay in communication
with the service provider to continually
monitor the service contract and ensure
that a good value is received. Lowest price
should not always win — negotiate your
contract down, or renegotiate all together.
It is also important to identify similar re-
pair costs and pricing levels. Where one
vendor may provide pricing levels, an-
other may provide individual repair costs.
Ideally, a “per-repair” pricing structure
will yield the biggest savings. Find out if
there a cap on the number of scopes that
can be sent out under a flat-fee service
agreement, and if so, what if that number
is exceeded? Additionally, find out if there
are any exceptions to the contract.
9. Reputation matters
ChannelCheck
TM
is the first
Always partner with a reputable repair
product capable of testing virtually
company. Do not hesitate to ask for, and
contact references. Also find out if they
any lumened instrument for
have a track record within your health
residual organic soils, including
system. Schedule a site visit to meet the ÀH[LEOHHQGRVFRSHVQRPDWWHUWKH
team and technicians. The visit will teach channel size. ChannelCheck
TM

you a lot.
tests for three common organic
soils at once: blood, protein
10. Experience rules
Find out how the repair vendor’s techni-
and carbohydrates. Flush an
cians are trained, how many technicians
individual channel with water and
they have, and identify how they are
test the recovered water with
paid. Technicians should be paid hourly, the dip-stick. Should any of the
not on a commission/per-piece basis.
pads indicate there is residual
US Patent #6,447,990 B1
Only utilize a repair vendor with prop-
soil, reclean the device and then
erly trained technicians that engage in
retest.
ongoing education to stay up-to-date
with current makes and models. If a ser-
vice provider has a limited number of
technicians, you may limit your service
to one skill set. HPN
Derek Lashua is marketing director, Spectrum
Surgical Instruments Corp., Stow, OH.
Visit www.ksrleads.com/?911hp-010
SCOPES continues on page 46
www.hpnonline.com •www.hpnonline.com HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS November 2009 November 2009 4545
0911-Scope Guide-shorrt.pmd 45 10/13/2009, 5:15 PM
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68