The Importance of Maintaining Your Ophthalmic Equipment

Buying ophthalmic equipment for your ophthalmic practice is an investment. Like any investment in goods, those goods need to be maintained. If you maintain your ophthalmic equipment properly it can last longer and ultimately cost you less. Maintenance can mean everything from cleaning, replacing ophthalmic batteries and ophthalmic bulbs, diagnostic and computer maintenance and preventing the buildup of dust. By treating your ophthalmic equipment like your luxury car, you'll ultimately serve your practice by making it more profitable an efficient. Here are some tips from VeatchInstruments.com on basic ophthalmic equipment maintenance.

One of the best pieces of advice we can offer is to keep clear and cogent records of all of your ophthalmic equipment. When you get your equipment or instrument, carefully review maintenance and warranty information and develop a calendar, or incorporate into your existing calendar, target dates for cleaning, diagnostic or computing testing and maintenance. By doing this, you and your staff will keep up to date on the status of all of your equipment and you'll be able to make sure you aren't plagued by downtime if any of your ophthalmic equipment needs replacement.

Another great maintenance tip is to keep ophthalmic supplies on hand. If you need to replace an ophthalmic bulb in any of your equipment, make sure you still have a spare on hand. Assign a member of your staff to order a back up when the back up is used to make sure you don't suffer downtime in your practice waiting for a simple replacement ophthalmic bulb or battery. Keeping a dedicated ophthalmic supply closet is a smart idea that will make sure your practice runs smoothly at all times and is not hampered by supply issues and disorganization.

As you review ophthalmic equipment and ophthalmic instruments you quickly note that many of them have one thing in common; the desire to avoid dust. As photographers and ophthalmic professionals alike know, dust and lenses do not mix. That's why you see items with "dust proof housing" as a key feature on most ophthalmic equipment and that is why purchasing dust covers is so important for the long life of your ophthalmic equipment. If dust gets into your equipment, whether into the lens or into the machinery, you know it won't work as well. In fact, an errant particle of dust in your ophthalmoscope could lead you down the path of misdiagnosis, so maintaining your ophthalmic equipment and instruments and ensuring they are dust free should be a top priority.

Choosing ophthalmic dust covers is pretty straightforward. They don't need to be fancy they just need to be effective. If your machines don't come with custom dust covers, you'll find many that can fit multiple instrument types here at Veatch Instruments. The low dollar cost of somewhere between $20 and $35 is well worth it when you think of the additional life you can get out of costly binocular indirect ophthalmoscopes, lensmeters and keratometers and even slit lamps.

Finally, remember that there is a strong market for used ophthalmic equipment. If you maintain your equipment to the highest degree, you are also maintaining its resale value which will ultimately allow you to not only replace your ophthalmic equipment, but to upgrade to better technology with a lower capital outlay. High quality ophthalmic equipment and technology is not inexpensive, so spend the extra time to maintain your equipment and secure your return on investment!