Cost of Operation and Reliability of Two Brands of Volume Ventilators

Abstract

Maintenance records during 12 months for 16 MA-1 ventilators, 7 BEAR-1 ventilators more than one year old, and 6 new BEAR-1 ventilators were compared. The MA-1 ventilators had the best record in every important category except cost for accessory parts and ventilator cost per patient hour with retrofit and preventive maintenance. The MA-1 ventilators needed repair once every 8,329 hours of use, compared with once every 2,500 hours for older BEAR-1 ventilators and once every 4,277 hours for newer BEAR-1 ventilators. Total costs of repairs were $430.84 for 16 MA-1 ventila-tors, and $3,064.44 for 7 BEAR-1 ventilators out of warranty. Costs of replacement parts were $3,097.01 for the MA-1 ventilators, $986.21 for the older BEAR-1 ventila-tors, and $845.32 for the newer BEAR-1 ventilators. The total cost per patient hour of use was 11¢ for the MA-1 ventilators and 13¢ and 3¢ respectively for the two BEAR-1 groups. Adding costs for retrofit for the MA-1 ventilators and projected costs for preventive maintenance of the BEAR-1 ventilators tripled the cost per hour of use for all three groups. The frequency of breakdowns for both brands of ventilators under-lines the need for preventive maintenance, but substantial cost increases will result from those programs.