It’s a buyer’s market for CT—sort of
The average price healthcare providers are paying to acquire CT systems has dropped by 20.9 percent since this time last year.
According to the latest cost-of-technology information as indexed by ECRI Institute in conjunction with Modern Healthcare, the current average price tag on a CT scanner is $732,275.
ECRI Institute, the member-based, nonprofit research operation in Pennsylvania that some consider the “Consumer Reports of medical equipment,” attributed the precipitous drop in averages not to fire sales by OEMs but to big buyer interest in 16-channel and 20- to 64-channel scanners—i.e., “lower end” options—which fetch fewer dollars than 128-slice scanners and deeply undercut premium CT systems. The latter can set providers back $1.5 million or more.
The latest Modern Healthcare/ECRI Institute Technology Price Index also shows CT scanners to be the sixth-most expensive capital item bought by ECRI members in the latest indexing period. Click here to take a look.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.