Ophtho is overrated

[orbitsurgMD]

For instance, they're working on additional cuts/restrictions on medical imaging, which may drop OCT reimbursements even further. Will make the ROI on SD-OCT hard to take. Fortunately, mine's already paid for!

At the current price points for these devices, unless you run the OCT day and night, you won't make enough to pay for it, never mind interpreting what it shows. The lowest priced units are $65,000 apiece for SD-OCT and the Heidelberg and Zeiss models much more. You need many $44.00 two-eye studies to pay that note. Unless you run a high-volume general practice or a retina practice, it simply is a money-loser, a negative ROI.

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[Mirror Form]

At the current price points for these devices, unless you run the OCT day and night, you won't make enough to pay for it, never mind interpreting what it shows. The lowest priced units are $65,000 apiece for SD-OCT and the Heidelberg and Zeiss models much more. You need many $44.00 two-eye studies to pay that note. Unless you run a high-volume general practice or a retina practice, it simply is a money-loser, a negative ROI.

You have to wonder about how they price the OCT's. I'm pretty sure they don't cost that much to manufacture anymore. Hopefully the prices will come down in line with the reimbursements, but who knows.

 

[orbitsurgMD]

You have to wonder about how they price the OCT's. I'm pretty sure they don't cost that much to manufacture anymore. Hopefully the prices will come down in line with the reimbursements, but who knows.

The profit margins have to be enormous. Granted, they have to be higher than in mass-production industries, but the prices at closer to $100K reflect a long-gone reimbursement structure and an unrealistic expectation of buyers. The materials themselves aren't all that costly, and the processor technology isn't ahead of the commercial computer market. The marketing is over the top, with Heidelberg sending out their satin-boxed crystal tomogram paperweights, and of course the super-expensive advertising and multi-million-dollar road shows to the meetings.

Honestly, I can't believe these things cost more than $5000 to make.