1 2 0
O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4
Other considerations
While most of the talk in sales presentations and at expos is about innova-
tive ways to reduce anesthetic consumption, there are plenty of other con-
siderations.
"If you're transitioning to EMR, you absolutely need data integra-
tion," says Dr. Sinha. "You want the machine to auto-populate those
fields, so you don't have to look at charts to do it. It's also more accu-
rate and honest, because if you're involved with something else, you
might not notice every change in monitoring right away."
Does the machine you're considering have a "sleep mode" to conserve
energy while it's not being used? "As machines become more electron-
ic, they build up heat," says Mr. Cryder, "so if a machine is always in
active mode, it's going to wear down quicker and components are going
to wear out sooner. Sleep mode preserves electricity and prolongs the
life of components."
Still, nothing lasts forever, which raises another key point. "What are
you going to do when I call on a Saturday morning and say I'm having
a problem?" asks Dr. Sinha. "Most companies will fly in a technician
or give you a temporary machine. That's an important factor. Also,
what if I try to fix the machine myself? Is that going to void the war-
ranty?"
Wants vs. needs
"Everybody has a price point," says Dr. Sinha. "Some people say, give
me the most car I can get for $20,000. Others say, I can spend
$100,000. But do you really need to have a lamp or a light that's part of
the machine and that you pay an extra $1,000 for? Maybe you can just
stick a $10 lamp on top of the machine."
Which is not to say that a more expensive car — or anesthesia
machine – is never a smart investment.
A N E S T H E S I A
