English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

At present, there are 2 main ways to obtain an instrument in the medical laboratory: purchasing and renting.1 Since each method has its advantages and disadvantages, decision making for selection of the instrument must be based on scientific principles. A study on the unit cost of the instrument can assist the laboratory in determining the suitability of the equipment to its needs and selecting appropriate models and configurations. There is nothing new about the unit cost principle.2 Private industry has used ideas based on unit cost principles for decades. Transformation from the industrial age to the information age demands that we actually use the new information to manage and work more efficiently. Managers need to recognize that increased visibility of cost information can lead to better, more informed decision making.1,2 By relating total cost to output, producers and customers are made aware of the real cost of support. To this end, unit cost provides more meaningful information and assists managers and management teams in becoming more effective. The steps to find the unit cost and use for the laboratory management are described as follows:2 1. Recognize and classify all the costs that are involved in the process. As a principle, there are two distinct types of outlays in running a process: capital costs (expenditure) and operating costs. Capital costs are items bought for the process (like real-estate that the business owns) but that have no direct bearing on the profit the process generates. Operating costs are the outlays that go into the production of the services. They have been expended and so have diminished the profit of the business (“charges – operating cost = profit”). Operating expenses can be divided into 2 different parts: fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs remain constant whether volume goes up or down, while variable costs vary in response to the volume of production. As volume goes up, so do variable costs. In a laboratory, examples of fixed costs include annual maintenance charges or annual employee salaries. Variable costs include the costs for consummables (reagent costs and disposal cuvettes costs). 2. Find the break-even point or equilibrium. The basic equation “total sales (variable costs + fixed costs) = profit” should be used in analysis for the profit of each laboratory test. In case there is an alternative in performing a laboratory test, such as a choice between using rented or purchased instruments, there is a break-even point where the rent and purchase costs cross. Above that point, one alternative will have a higher total cost than the other and it should not be selected. This article focuses on 2 main alternative methods for acquiring instruments for the laboratory.

Purchased Versus Rented Laboratory Instruments, an Example of Situation Analysis on Financial Aspects in Thailand