3 ms·

I used to do after-market repair medical equipment (MRI's, CT's, X-Ray, etc). One of the biggest frustrations was: $manufacturer wants $5000 to repair a CT. We

I used to do after-market repair medical equipment (MRI's, CT's, X-Ray, etc). One of the biggest frustrations was: $manufacturer wants $5000 to repair a CT. We'd charge $1000. We'd repair the CT, and it would pass all the built-in diagnostic tests. But then when the customer went to make a scan, a pop-up would appear saying "Unauthorized Repair! Call $manufacturer to fix!". $manufacturer repair tech would come in, plug in a usb-key, type a code, and charge $1000. They didn't run any of the diagnostics, and were basically paid to keep the usb-key available. I believe in the right to repair, because preventing it just causes artificial monopolies and price-gouging. (note: I don't remember actual prices. Numbers were just made up)

themartorana 10y ago
Pretty scary that they don't run a diagnostic pass - I wonder, if the repair was bad and caused human injury/death, who would be liable? Company X did the repair, but $manufacturer basically certified it.
- tzs 10y ago
  It could be that the unit keeps track of when diagnostics were performed and the results, and the "Unauthorized repaid, call manufacturer to fix" only happens on units that already had diagnostics performed after the repair and passed.
marcoperaza 10y ago
>$manufacturer repair tech would come in, plug in a usb-key, type a code, and charge $1000. They didn't run any of the diagnostics, and were basically paid to keep the usb-key available. How is that legal? I sincerely hope that would not survive a civil suit. Though it could be that hospitals are weary of suing their suppliers for various reasons.
- pessimizer 10y ago
  Under what law would it be illegal? It's not just medical equipment - it's tractors and iPhones, too.
FiatLuxDave 10y ago
So, if you do an after-market repair on a medical device, and a patient dies as a result of poor device performance, who does the FDA usually come after, you or the device manufacturer? I suspect the liability for medical device mess-ups is at least partially responsible for that situation. The tech who didn't run any diagnostics would be in serious shit if a patient died after he did nothing aside from typing in the error-clearing code on your repair. In many cases, the FDA requires the device manufacturer to maintain training records and updated repair procedures for any repair shop doing repairs on their devices. This could be the source of that error message.
- marcosdumay 10y ago
  > So, if you do an after-market repair on a medical device, and a patient dies as a result of poor device performance, who does the FDA usually come after, you or the device manufacturer? I don't know the answer to that question. But I do hope it is "the party that was negligent".
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  To be honest, I'm not sure. I was a level-of-separation away, so I never really had to worry about it personally. I'd imagine both will end up in the lawsuit, at least partially. FWIW, we did keep updated records on all the work that was done on the machine, for this exact reason. We also had to have records of passed diagnostics.
  - lotu 10y ago
    I would also have to imagine that is is extremely difficult to fix an MRI such it produce incorrect scan results with being obviously broken.
    - CaptSpify 10y ago
      Right. The tests they have are pretty "by the book". Readings and diagnostics have to be pretty tight.
warkdarrior 10y ago
3rd party repair + $manufacturer "re-activation" were still cheaper than the original cost quoted by the $manufacturer.
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  Sure, in this case. But remember, the $1000 is made up (because I don't remember), and completely arbitrary. Paying $1000 for no actual work being done is BS IMO.
antisthenes 10y ago
Yeah, if you need an example of why the health care costs in the US are fucked up, look no further than this post.

themartorana 10y ago

Pretty scary that they don't run a diagnostic pass - I wonder, if the repair was bad and caused human injury/death, who would be liable? Company X did the repair, but $manufacturer basically certified it.

tzs 10y ago
It could be that the unit keeps track of when diagnostics were performed and the results, and the "Unauthorized repaid, call manufacturer to fix" only happens on units that already had diagnostics performed after the repair and passed.

marcoperaza 10y ago

>$manufacturer repair tech would come in, plug in a usb-key, type a code, and charge $1000. They didn't run any of the diagnostics, and were basically paid to keep the usb-key available. How is that legal? I sincerely hope that would not survive a civil suit. Though it could be that hospitals are weary of suing their suppliers for various reasons.

pessimizer 10y ago
Under what law would it be illegal? It's not just medical equipment - it's tractors and iPhones, too.

FiatLuxDave 10y ago

So, if you do an after-market repair on a medical device, and a patient dies as a result of poor device performance, who does the FDA usually come after, you or the device manufacturer? I suspect the liability for medical device mess-ups is at least partially responsible for that situation. The tech who didn't run any diagnostics would be in serious shit if a patient died after he did nothing aside from typing in the error-clearing code on your repair. In many cases, the FDA requires the device manufacturer to maintain training records and updated repair procedures for any repair shop doing repairs on their devices. This could be the source of that error message.

marcosdumay 10y ago
> So, if you do an after-market repair on a medical device, and a patient dies as a result of poor device performance, who does the FDA usually come after, you or the device manufacturer? I don't know the answer to that question. But I do hope it is "the party that was negligent".
CaptSpify 10y ago
To be honest, I'm not sure. I was a level-of-separation away, so I never really had to worry about it personally. I'd imagine both will end up in the lawsuit, at least partially. FWIW, we did keep updated records on all the work that was done on the machine, for this exact reason. We also had to have records of passed diagnostics.
- lotu 10y ago
  I would also have to imagine that is is extremely difficult to fix an MRI such it produce incorrect scan results with being obviously broken.
  - CaptSpify 10y ago
    Right. The tests they have are pretty "by the book". Readings and diagnostics have to be pretty tight.

warkdarrior 10y ago

3rd party repair + $manufacturer "re-activation" were still cheaper than the original cost quoted by the $manufacturer.

CaptSpify 10y ago
Sure, in this case. But remember, the $1000 is made up (because I don't remember), and completely arbitrary. Paying $1000 for no actual work being done is BS IMO.

antisthenes 10y ago

Yeah, if you need an example of why the health care costs in the US are fucked up, look no further than this post.