Community answer
What to Do With Broken or Outdated Medical Equipment (Before You Scrap It)
Quick answer: Don't scrap it yet. Most "dead" medical equipment carries parts value that beats scrap price — boards, handpieces, optics, modules and batteries all have a market. Get a photo-based quote from a parts buyer first, wipe patient data (HIPAA) on anything with storage, and only then recycle what truly has no value.
Every biomed shop and closing practice has the same corner: the dead monitors, the retired pumps, the scope that failed its leak test. The instinct is a dumpster or a scrapper. Both usually leave money on the table — and one of them can leave a HIPAA problem behind.
Why dead equipment still has value
The repair market runs on harvested parts: camera heads and couplers, monitor modules, scope optics and channels, pump mechanisms, power supplies, even cables. A non-working unit is a parts kit with a market price — which is why we buy non-working and untested equipment alongside working units. Working, untested, or dead-for-parts: photograph it, send it, get a number.
Before anything leaves the building: patient data
Ultrasounds, monitors with trends, EKG carts, anything with a hard drive or memory — patient data must be securely destroyed before disposal or sale. Ask any buyer, including us, for HIPAA-safe data destruction with confirmation. A scrapped device with PHI on it is a breach waiting to be found.
Your options, in order of return
- Sell to a parts buyer. One quote, they haul it, you get paid. Usually the best return for non-working equipment.
- Sell working pieces separately. If a system is dead but its probes/handpieces test fine, they often carry most of the value.
- Donate working-but-outdated equipment to reuse programs — goodwill and sometimes a tax angle (ask your accountant).
- Certified recycling for the true zero-value remainder — electronics don't belong in general waste.
The 10-minute move
Photograph everything in the dead-equipment corner (nameplates included), send the batch to a buyer, and let the quote decide. Whole storerooms get cleared this way — we handle pickup within 48 hours and same-day payment, including de-installation and freight at our cost.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What should I do with broken medical equipment?
Get a parts-value quote before scrapping — boards, optics, handpieces, modules and batteries all have a repair-market value that usually beats scrap. Wipe patient data on anything with storage, then recycle only what truly has no value.
Who buys non-working medical equipment?
Parts buyers and dealers who serve the repair market — including us. We buy working, untested and non-working units; send photos and get a quote, and we handle pickup and freight.
Do I need to wipe patient data before disposing of equipment?
Yes — any device with storage (ultrasounds, monitors, EKG carts) must have patient data securely destroyed before sale or disposal. Ask the buyer for HIPAA-safe data destruction with confirmation.
Is scrapping medical equipment ever the right call?
Only for the true zero-value remainder after parts value has been checked — and then through certified electronics recycling, not general waste.