Auction Disclosures or Announcements — Dealers and institutions (i.e. 3rd Party Resellers, Biomed companies, and manufacturers) sell many types of medical units/systems at auction or on-line each year. Sellers often provide disclosures about a system/unit’s damage, general condition, or repair history. These disclosures are made available to potential buyers in pre-sale lists and in auction announcements.

Equiptrack Well Maintained – Regular PMs — Equiptrack identifies a “Well Maintained – Regular PMs” unit or system as having a regular preventive maintenance history when all its recommended critical functionality has been checked and verified, based on the equipment’s service schedule, have been reported to Equiptrack. Equiptrack uses the manufacturer’s schedule and assumes normal operating conditions. When a PM schedule is not available, Equiptrack may analyze reported service events to determine what is typical for the same make and model unit or system. Distributors and service providers may publish different recommended service schedules.

Damage Disclosure — When the owner discloses to a Equiptrack source that the equipment sustained damage. The extent of damage can range from minor to severe. Equiptrack recommends you have this unit/system inspected.

Damage Indicator — Damage can be a result of many different types of events. Examples include contact with objects, subassembly failure, cracked/missing displays, missing subassemblies, etc.  Not every damage event is reported to Equiptrack. As details about the damage event become available, those additional details are added to the Equiptrack Equipment Maintenance Report (EMR) if applicable. Equiptrack recommends that you have this unit/system inspected by a qualified Service Provider.

Damage Severity — Damage events result in one of the following severity levels:

Equiptrack recommends getting a pre-purchase inspection by a qualified Service Provider.

Date Reported — Refers to the date when the event occurred.

Distributor — Distributors buy, service and/or sell new or used medical equipment.  These companies offer services in the areas of consigned inventory management and sales, equipment refurbishing and on-site and on-line equipment sales with or without warranties. Not all distributors report information to Equiptrack.

Failed Electrical Safety Check — The electrical check performed during a yearly inspection indicated the unit was leaking more current thru external leads or chassis contact than allowable grounding and electrical standards.  Repeated failed Electrical Safety Check records can indicate problems and Equiptrack recommends you have the unit inspected inspected by a trusted Service Partner.

FDA — A federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Service established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products.

First Owner — When the first owner(s) purchases the equipment from the OEM or Manufacturer.

Information Source — Equiptrack receives data from many data sources. The information source refers to the source or provider of the equipment maintenance event information reported in the Equipment Maintenance Record (EMR) Report.

Inspections — Can include equipment categories such as electrical safety, visual, functional, and calibration.  Manufacturers recommend regular equipment inspections on a daily, monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis.  Service providers can document these inspections at the time of the maintenance event.

Major Parts Removed — When a system has three or more major parts removed by an equipment refurbisher.

Manufacturer — The original company who designed, developed and made the unit or system.  All medical equipment manufacturers listed in Equiptrack Reports are registered by the FDA and their equipment has also been approved by the FDA.

Manufacturer Recall — Manufacturers issue voluntary or involuntary recall notices to inform equipment owners of a safety defect or failure to meet minimum federal safety standards.  

Manufacturer-Recommended Maintenance Schedules/ PM Schedules — Medical Equipment manufacturers provide recommended maintenance schedules for each of their models. These schedules inform owners of maintenance that should be performed on a unit or system at specific time periods. These schedules are available in the owner’s manual or Service Manual.

Model Name — This alphanumeric identifier is unique to each category of equipment for a particular OEM or Manufacturer.  The same Model Name may be found for different manufacturers due to changes in corporate ownership (one OEM buying another) over the years.

Model Number — This alphanumeric identifier can be unique to each Model Name and can signify specific system configurations for a particular OEM or Manufacturer.   

Repairs — Can include equipment categories such as remove/replace subassemblies, PM, re-calibration, etc.  Service providers can document these repairs at the time of the maintenance event.

Refurbished — Refurbished equipment is a piece of equipment that has been repaired and restored to operation. These units are often damaged before they are refurbished and refurbished or new parts are typically used during refurbishing although some 3rd party parts vendors are also used.  Due to the age of some units or systems, only parts or subassemblies from 3rd party parts vendors can be used to restore the unit to proper operating condition.

Scrapped — Equipment that have been dismantled and/or destroyed and should not be put back in service.

Serial Number — This alphanumeric number is unique to each unit/system for a particular OEM or Manufacturer.

Structural Damage — When the main structure or any component designed to provide structural integrity of the unit or system is damaged, all levels of damage, from minor to severe, can cause structural damage to equipment (i.e., damage to the internal frame or outer casing). Having an inspection before purchase is by a qualified Service Provider is recommended.

U.S. Privacy Laws/HIPAA — The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. HIPPA restricts the use of sensitive personal information such as name and address. It has therefore always been Equiptrack’s policy to focus its reporting on equipment, not people or patients.