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ABOUT
BONE DENSITOMETRY
Introduction
Different Techniques
Dexa or Ultrasound?
BONE
DENSITOMETRY EQUIPMENT
Types of Equipment
New or Preowned?
Operator Requirements
BONE
DENSITOMETRY PRACTICE
Why offer Bone Densitometry?
Indications for Bone Densitometry
Patient Reimbursements
Favorable Legislation
ABOUT
OSTEOPOROSIS
Basic Facts
Not Just a Woman's Disease
Prevention & Treatment
Links
INTEGRITY'S
B D EQUIPMENT PROGRAM
Why Bone Densitometry is Important
Now
How IMS Can Help
TERMS OF USE
© 2002, Integrity Medical Systems, Inc. |
INTELLIGENCE — EXPERTISE — ACCESS
Why Bone Densitometry
Is Important Now
On the morning of December 12,
2001, millions of American women were served a bone-
chilling bit of news about their health. Vicky Que of National
Public
Radio's "Morning Edition" reported on a new study being
published by the Journal of the American Medical Association
about womens' bone strength Ð and the almost certain
loss of it in the post menopausal years. In the largest
study
of osteoporosis conducted to date in the United States,
more than 200,000 healthy women aged 50 and older were
recruited from doctors' offices to undergo bone screening.
Researchers at the Columbia University College of Physicians
and Surgeons who conducted the study found that nearly
one out of every two women tested had undetected low
bone-mineral density. Seven percent of the women had
such severe depletion
of bone mass that they were diagnosed with full-blown
osteoporosis. Researchers followed up with about 75 percent
of the participants
after the initial diagnosis and found that in one year,
women with osteoporosis were four times more likely to
suffer a fracture compared to those with healthy bones.
The study in the JAMA is especially alarming in its indications of the millions
of women who are either currently diagnosed with osteoporosis or, worse, have
the disease unknowingly. The study found that 40% of the women tested had osteopenia,
a condition characterized by low bone mass, but not yet deteriorated to the
point of a full-blown osteoporosis diagnosis.
"The importance of such findings, indicating
a need for greater attention to the identification and management of
osteoporotic risk, should not be underestimated," writes Dr. Charles
H. Chestnut of the University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle,
in an editorial accompanying the study. "Based on the current study,
strategies to identify, manage, and treate osteoporois in primary care
need to be established and implemented Ð hopefully, sooner rather than
later."
The need for bone densitometry screening has never been greater. The
result of studies like Columbia's will be hundreds of thousands of
female healthcare
consumers Ð the primary drivers of the healthcare industry today Ð proactively
demanding bone density screening from their healthcare providers. Elected representatives
will continue their successful efforts to make bone density tests reimbursable
by private healthcare insurers and Medicare, and to continue to expand those
reimbursements.
And practitioners? How will they answer the need for increased bone density
testing? Currently the only accurate measurements of bone mass and fracture
risk is noninvasive bone densitometry equipment. While the cost of purchasing
new bone densitometry equipment may be prohibitive, one answer to meeting this
critical healthcare need without putting a practitioner's fiscal health at
risk is purchasing a pre-owned system.
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How IMS Can Help
This is where Integrity Medical Systems,
Inc., can help.
Whether you are introducing bone densitometry into your practice, or considering
upgrading your existing bone densitometry unit, call Integrity Medical. Over
the thirteen years we have been in business, we have earned a reputation for
experience, expertise and access to preowned diagnostic imaging equipment of
superior quality and condition. And bone densitometry is our specialty. We
know the equipment; we know the market. We have the industry's largest inventory
of preowned bone densitometry equipment available now. We know how to get your
unit shipped and delivered as quickly - and carefully - as possible; and we
know the most efficient, effective ways to get it installed, calibrated and
working for you. So you can put your bone densitometer to work scanning patients
and garnering revenue.
But, please, don't call Integrity Medical
first. Make us the second, or third, preowned bone denistometer dealer
on your contact list. We like well-educated customers, and have sponsored
this website so that our customers, as well as anyone interested in
learning more about bone densitometry, can arm themselves with the
information they need to make informed choices. Knowledge is power.
Call around. Check references. Ask questions. Educate yourself on what
you're buying and what it can do for your practice. Compare prices.
Now call Integrity
Medical.
Yes, chances are you will be able to buy
a cheaper bone densitometer from someone else. It never hurts to save
a few bucks unless saving a couple of dollars leads to a truckload
of headaches: promises made and broken; a great deal on a not-so-great
unit that doesn't end up doing the job you need it to do; a unit damaged
in shipping; an installation botched; scans that don't come out right,
and that cheap used equipment company is nowhere to be found. At Integrity
Medical we guarantee our equipment sold to endusers for ninety days,
and can offer one to five-year service contracts on every unit we sell (see
our Terms of Use). Our customers come to us for "turn-key" sales
and service. That means that, if you need it, we will arrange the shipping,
the installation, the callibration, and the on-site training session
for your bone densitometer. We offer warranties for the equipment we
sell. And, unlike the typical used equipment broker, we never offer
to sell you something that we don't have.
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