Vermont Ski Shops See Brisk Business and High Demand for Shop Services

[Kingslug20]

Now turn this into ski tuning..you go to the kiosk..feed your skis into the machine and out pops tuned skis..have it run 24hrs a day..no more waiting.

 

[drjeff]

Now turn this into ski tuning..you go to the kiosk..feed your skis into the machine and out pops tuned skis..have it run 24hrs a day..no more waiting.

Heck, most if not all of the new tuning machines are already automated short of someone to load the ski into the machine. Now the cost, which typically is a bit either side of $200k is the bigger potential issue there, as you need to see the retrun on the investment in a reasonable amount of time.

You could almost draw the parallel with many smaller hospitals that spent millions on CT scanners or MRI machines, which often end up not being used at a level which makes them economically feasible (verses using say a different, larger hospitals radiology facilties or a radioology imaging center) and you end up with good intentions causing fiscal issues.

There comes a point with automation potential where you may end up finding in some cases, the cost to automate ends up in the realistic short term, being a financial hinderence, especially if it's in a situation where the automation potential may be for something that more of a seasonal and not a year round basis

 

[deadheadskier]

Heck, most if not all of the new tuning machines are already automated short of someone to load the ski into the machine. Now the cost, which typically is a bit either side of $200k is the bigger potential issue there, as you need to see the retrun on the investment in a reasonable amount of time.

You could almost draw the parallel with many smaller hospitals that spent millions on CT scanners or MRI machines, which often end up not being used at a level which makes them economically feasible (verses using say a different, larger hospitals radiology facilties or a radioology imaging center) and you end up with good intentions causing fiscal issues.

There comes a point with automation potential where you may end up finding in some cases, the cost to automate ends up in the realistic short term, being a financial hinderence, especially if it's in a situation where the automation potential may be for something that more of a seasonal and not a year round basis

I would agree with the premise that it's a waste to have MRI machines at small community hospitals. I would not agree that it's a waste on CT-Scanners. Any place that has an ER needs to have one. It's the first thing you do when someone comes into the ER with chest pains. They get sent to the CT Scan to rule out an MI. The standard for door to balloon is 90 minutes. Adding a transfer in to ship patients off to facilities that do have CT Scans would burn precious time. CT Scans are also the first tool to use for strokes and brain bleeds. Bad idea to take them out of small hospitals to save a few bucks.

 

[abc]

Bad idea to take them out of small hospitals to save a few bucks.

But it isn't just "a few" bucks. It's "a few hundred k"!

That needs to be viewed in a realistic eyes of how many lives it saves.

 

[deadheadskier]

But it isn't just "a few" bucks. It's "a few hundred k"!

That needs to be viewed in a realistic eyes of how many lives it saves.

The standard is 90 minutes. I just told you that. A person with a blockage needs it diagnosed and opened back up within 90 minutes of walking through the door for the most favorable outcome. Every minute counts. Hospitals that fail to meet that standard can get hit on their reimbursement from the feds. You can look up how every hospital in the country performs in this care category. A few hundred grand is nothing compared to the lifetime costs to society for a patient who didn't receive intervention for a MI in an appropriate amount of time. We are not discussing elective healthcare. Basic diagnosis and treatment for the number one killer in the country shouldn't be treated like a commodity.

Don't you work in healthcare? You should know darn well how this works.

 

[abc]

Don't you work in healthcare? You should know darn well how this works.

Where did you get that idea? Just 2 days ago, I wrote a long thesis about robotic and computer programming! I guess you skipped reading those.

No, I don't work in healthcare. (though my Mom used to, but not anywhere near the ER) So my "knowledge" of healthcare as an industry is nil. Only of a typical patient who had to use the "system" frequently enough due to my aging body. (plus some doctor friends)

I have no idea how many such cases a small rural hospital get to see in a month/year. So the calculation should be pretty straight forward. If a small hospital indeed sees 20 such patients in a month, the CT scanner would NOT be considered "sit unused" as DrJeff suggest. Easy enough to tell?