Cassona Global Imaging Company Ltd., an export trading company (ETC) that specialises in health products in the diagnostic imaging field, has indicated that refurbished medical equipment is best for health facilities in the country and sub-region due to its cost-effective and efficient standard.
Refurbished equipment is said to cost less than new equipment even though it has the same functionality, delivers the same service as new equipment, saves the environment through reuse, and enables the deployment of more equipment for diagnostic and treatment purposes.
According to the management of the American-based firm now entering the Ghanaian market with the objective to help health facilities to procure refurbished medical equipment for accurate diagnostics on credit bases, this is an opportunity to address shortage or inadequate diagnostic equipment in health facilities.
Cassona International will, among other things, provide credit facilities to health institutions to procure these refurbished machines, import the machines into the country for easy access, provide training and skills development on the usage of equipment and maintenance, and provide uninterrupted power supply.
Chief Executive Officer, Cassona Global Imaging, John Chigbu, stated that the decision to help health institutions, especially private ones in the country and the Sub-Sahara region to acquire the refurbished equipment is born out of the devastating effect the COVID-19 pandemic had on lives and livelihoods. He emphasised that due to the shortage of essential medical equipment for diagnostics during the COVID-19 peak, the suffering was three-fold higher in developing countries, hence, the decision to step in and address this shortfall.
“What I found out at the time of my mother’s death during the COVID-19 pandemic is that Sub-Sahara Africa has no working equipment; and where there are, they are not enough. So, we decided to focus on providing medical equipment to the region.
“The most important thing in health delivery is to diagnose first – to know the illness. How do you treat what you do not know? So, we are here to solve this problem,” he said.
He mentioned that the reason for fewer working machines in Africa is capital challenges in buying brand new equipment as a simple medical machine could cost over a million dollars, and these private health facilities do not have credit facilities to enable them to purchase on credit; so Cassona will help provide credit to these institutions through its partnership with financial institutions in the USA.
He emphasised that refurbished equipment “fits into the African health-service delivery due to cost savings, the ease of acquisition, lower operating cost, and availability of local maintenance, especially in Ghana.
“The biggest consumer of refurbished equipment now is the USA followed by Europe and Asia. And they are using it because a standard called IEC PAS 63077: 2016 has been created to outline standard and use of refurbished medical equipment,” he stressed.
He assured that Cassona would ensure that refurbished medical equipment brought into the country meet the international standard.
Refurbished medical equipment refers to the repaired and restored medical devices for reuse by hospitals. Healthcare instrument manufacturers refurbish a particular medical instrument through several processes to render it re-applicable for future purposes.
