cal sells exclusively to the vet market, with a customer base of solo practitioners, multi-vet specialty clinics, private practice groups, and corporate-owned chain practices. “Different things drive human and animal medical equipment purchasing [decisions]; [for one], there are no health care reimbursement issues,” Mr. Ziller said. “They are pretty discreet markets. If you go back 10 or 12 years, the animal equipment industry was kind of a stepchild -- human equipment was used to suit animal needs. Now there is vet-specific equipment that has been adapted and designed especially for veterinarians, which is sold by OEMs who recognize animal health as a billion-dollar industry. Not only do pharmaceutical <strong>com</strong>panies have divisions for animal health, they’re building products from the ground-up for this industry.” “Once an office has the core pieces it needs to operate, we can sit down with them and furnish a ‘wish list’ so they can plan and upgrade the office on sound financial footing,” noted Mr. Ziller. “We want to find equipment that has wide applications, while improving the standard of care. It is not good to put equipment there that will sit and gather dust. The desire is to have the equipment generate revenue to pay for itself and more.” Veterinarians want equipment that is easy to use, carries warranties, and has portability, he said. Two-thirds of the vet industry business is in urban areas, where there are high concentrations of <strong>com</strong>panion animals. As a region, according to Mr. Ziller, the “strongest base is in the western and southern U.S.” Software choices play a role in how well digital radiography systems run. OEMs believe that customers are expecting “more for less money,” wrote Michael Andrews, vice-president of Hudson Digital Systems, a West Paterson, NJ, <strong>com</strong>pany. “This market has cost-conscious buyers, which is driving vendors to increase the value [of their products]. [Features] such as faster throughput, [increased number of software user] licenses, better financing rates, better warranties . . . all are on the upward trend.” The <strong>com</strong>pany sells the HDR series of veterinary CCD digital radiography systems in addition to Fuji medical and veterinary CR equipment, ranging in price from $15,000 to $100,000. Their customer base includes small and large veterinary hospitals, emergency clinics, and specialty centers. “The very best X-ray equipment is only as good as the image enhancement software used to display images for diag- 48 Veterinary CT scanner (Image courtesy of TW Medical Veterinary Supply) <strong>DOTmed</strong>business news I s e p t e m b e r 2009 nosis,” wrote Tom Dziubeck, director of OEM sales at ContextVision, in an e-mail interview. The Newton, MA-based <strong>com</strong>pany sells software used for medical imaging enhancements for MRI’s, X-ray, ultrasound, and CT image data. “The vet digital X-ray market is an upgrade market -- [people] generally have older X-ray equipment [and most] are leaving X-ray film and [converting] to digital equipment,” said Mr. Dziubeck. “In order to generate a digital X-ray image, you need the software.” “You can spend a whole lot of money for new equipment,” Mr. Dziubeck observed. “But if the software is not really good, it’s pointless.” Overall, there seems to be growing demand in digital Xray, ultrasound, and diagnostic vet equipment sales. Often, other <strong>com</strong>plementary goods, such as software sales, go handin-hand with these vet equipment sales. However, it is difficult to provide an accurate picture of what is happening in the used and new vet equipment market since some major OEMs and other representative ISOs declined interviews. Perhaps this is an indication of how <strong>com</strong>petitive the vet equipment market is, with <strong>com</strong>panies viewing certain lines of questioning as <strong>com</strong>petitive intelligence. Profits in the vet industry are large, since there are no federal regulations or insurance <strong>com</strong>panies steering reimbursements, making secrecy necessary to protect a <strong>com</strong>pany’s <strong>com</strong>petitive edge. • Online: dotmed.<strong>com</strong>/dm10008 To read more on veterinary medicine, visit us online and search dm10011. HemaTrue ® Veterinary Hematology Analyzer (Image courtesy of TW Medical Veterinary Supply) www.dotmed.<strong>com</strong>
InfUSIOn PUMPS New Developments Lead to New Opportunities By Mary Kate Baumann <strong>DOTmed</strong>business news I s e p t e m b e r 2009 49
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