The Hidden Cost of Older Practice Equipment

What forces the decision to upgrade.

Medical technology is evolving rapidly, but in private practice, the bigger change has been in what forces the decision to upgrade. Equipment used to be replaced when it physically wore out. Now, it’s just as often replaced because a scheme requirement, a certification, or a data standard moved, none of which run on your schedule.

A booth whose calibration certificate has lapsed, or imaging that can’t move data into a hospital’s records. Neither shows up in how the machine performs clinically, and in a busy practice, neither is really on anyone’s desk.
‍

Why waiting feels like the sensible instinct

When a machine still does its job but the administrative requirements around it move, waiting usually feels like the sensible instinct. The diary is full, the equipment is running, and replacing it in a quarter when cash flow feels a bit more comfortable seems like the disciplined plan.
‍

What the practitioners who come through best actually do

Over a decade of funding medical practices, we’ve noticed that the practitioners who come through these cycles best are the ones who control the timing themselves. They replace equipment while their cash reserves are strong, rather than waiting until the machine or a scheme makes the decision for them. They keep their reserve intact for the quieter months. They are also hard-nosed about what they buy: a machine that doesn’t change what you can bill is simply a cost, whichever way you pay for it.
‍

Where you are in the cycle right now

Right now is usually the strong part of that cycle. It tends to thin later in the year as patients’ day-to-day benefits run down and the diary stays fuller than the collections.
‍

How the funding is structured

Equipment Finance. Up to 300%.
Equipment Finance advances up to 300% of your monthly turnover over terms to 36 months, covering medical equipment, practice technology, software, and renovations.

Medical Practice Funding. Up to 150%.
Where the pressure is on working capital rather than a particular asset, Medical Practice Funding offers up to 150% of monthly turnover, with repayments linked to a percentage of your medical aid claims so they move with the practice rather than against it.

‍