Pixels, fill factor, and line pairs per millimeter is what I most commonly get asked about from veterinarians purchasing digital radiography system but what I hear about most commonly from veterinarians who are unhappy with their digital systems is that the support offered by their digital radiography vendor stinks. Common complaints include network problems, general image and training issues, and incomplete installs.

Vendor support may be one of the great differentiators between digital radiography systems. I would even go so far as to state that I would prefer a slightly poorer digital radiography system with excellent vendor support.

The main problems I seem to fall into three main categories.

Problem 1: Unfamiliarity with the veterinary market

There are a number of digital radiography vendors coming from human medicine that sell very good machines but they are not familiar with the veterinary market. They are inexperienced in what veterinarians expect a radiograph to look like. They are inexperienced with how we formulate a technique chart. They are unfamiliar with what it takes to train a veterinary technician to use their equipment. These companies may even be very attentive when you call them for support, however, if they can’t answer your question because of a lake of knowledge of veterinary imaging, no amount of care or empathy is going to help you with your problem.

Problem 2: The middle man

Many digital radiography products are sold though distributors. Many of these distributors were film radiograph vendors and x-ray machine processor companies who are now transitioning into the digital market. Some of these distributors are excellent and represent a “value added” to your digital radiography purchase because they have done their research, they are good with computers, they are local, and they care about your relationship more than a large company from a far off city.

Unfortunately, many of these distributors don’t know much about digital imaging, computers, or computer networks. Digital radiography is really more of an information technology issue than a radiographic equipment issue. Although your local x-ray distributor gave you great service for your film processor, you may not get the same service for your digital radiography machine.

This becomes a big problem if you are stuck in a vendor-distributor-veterinarian battle. This is the way it goes…you have a problem and ask the distributor for help. The distributor comes out and can’t fix the problem. They then say that this is a vendor problem. You then go to the vendor who explains that the distributor is supposed to take care of the problem. Not a good position to be in.

If you are going to purchase a system from a distributor and not directly from the vendor, be sure to determine who is responsible for what types of service before you sign the contract.

Problem 3: Just bad service

Some companies just have bad service. It stinks. Do some research before you buy a system. You may have to read between the lines when questioning other practices with the system you are interested in. Any answer other than “service is excellent” or “we have not ever had a problem so I wouldn't’t know” should be a red flag and prompt you to ask more questions. I am not sure why, but many veterinarians are leery of telling the truth about problems they have with vendor service.

Be sure that you question the head technician and any associate veterinarians at the hospital. There is often a big discrepancy between what the practice owner (who usually made the final decision to purchase the system) and everyone else thinks about the system and the service.

You get what you pay for

Service is not free. As with all things digital, you get what you pay for. Support may (will…should) cost a few thousand dollars a year. Remember, you are asking the vendor to be there for you 24/7 and this costs them money.

The exact price will vary depending on the vendor but in most cases, the cost for service is not included in the initial quote for your digital radiography machine. Don’t be surprised at the end of your negotiation when a service contract is thrown in the mix.

Be sure to get what you pay for. You want your machine to work 100% of the time. Unfortunately, things break and installs never go as planned so you will need to be reasonable with your expectations. Digital radiography is very user dependant so there is also a lot of “user error” that causes digital radiography image problems so be patient with your vendor. Many times (most times??), problems are caused by technical staff or poor training. Before you fly off the handle because of a problem with your images or your network…count to ten… and then call the vendor. If they can’t get you squared away or don’t do their best to remedy the situation…then (and only then) do you have permission to fly off the handle.

It should be clearly stated in your service contract what types of service your vendor will be responsible to provide. For example, how many hours/days does your vendor have to return your phone call or arrive onsite to fix a problem. What does the service contract cover? Does it cover future software upgrades?

The service contract should not be vague. For example, statements like “98% uptime guarantee” are meaningless. Think about it. If there are 8584 hours in a year (your vendor will assume that you are working 24/7) and you are down for 2% of the time, the vendor has 175 hours (7.2 days) to get to your practice up and running again. What would it cost your practice to be without the ability to obtain radiographs for one week?

The good news:

The good news is that there are some excellent vendors out there who are committed to the veterinary market. These vendors know and understand veterinarians and veterinary technicians. They understand the workflow in a veterinary hospital and how we take radiographs.

Advances in computer networking will enable vendors to give you better service than ever before. Some vendors can now even remotely dial in to your digital radiography machine and fix and troubleshoot problems remotely. For example, Sedecal now offers their customers online support by just clicking a button on their digital radiography machine. Service engineers are then able to dial in and evaluate your images for problems AND even adjust settings on the x-ray machine (yes, the x-ray machine) to troubleshoot problems. During training of new staff, remote engineers can even “take control” of an x-ray machine and PC workstation to guide users on how to use the system.

Conclusion:

Service should be one of your top considerations when purchasing a digital radiography system. Buy from a reputable company that knows the veterinary market. Do your research and talk to a lot of practices. It wont take long to know who the reputable vendors are. Good service, however, will be costly so always consider the cost of your service contract during your negotiations.