Capital Equipment Investments in Diabetes Care

Abstract

Many health professionals involved in diabetes care have little or no experience in the acquisition of capital equipment. Until recently, there were few pieces of capital equipment that could be used in diabetes care, except for those in commercial laboratories. Diabetes health professionals who do not manage a commercial laboratory now have the opportunity to consider the use of a number of pieces of equipment that are designed for the medical office and not the laboratory environment. In this discussion, we consider the evaluation, purchase, and application of capital equipment for the office environment, or, capital equipment management for the neophyte. There are a variety of devices available for use in diabetes. This article considers equipment that meets the following criteria: 1. It is used by a health professional in a medical office or is applied and removed in a medical office; 2. There is an intention to bill and the expectation to collect ethical charges from third-party payers for the use of the equipment; 3. The equipment is sold on the premise that the reimbursements for its use will financially benefit the provider; and 4. There is usually the expectation that the equipment will enhance the perceived excellence of the diabetes care rendered by the practitioner. Although the number of items for use in diabetes care that fulfill the above criteria is not large, the list is certainly growing (Table 1). The items include desktop devices to measure hemoglobin A1c (A1C), glucose monitoring sensors, devices to assess neurological defects in diabetic patients, ultrasound devices to measure carotid wall atherosclerosis, and various cameras for assessment of retinopathic changes in diabetic people. These devices vary in size, cost, and potential reimbursement; however, they all meet the criteria enumerated above. They are used or applied and removed in the medical office. They are all advertised as …