[Histonet] Ventana Benchmark

[Sanders, Julie, VHACIN]

I agree with Joe, the cost of running the Ventana is high.  My chief is always trying to figure out a way for us to not do immunos in house just because of this.  With that said, our Ventana sales rep has given us the best prices possible for the volume we run, which is not that high compared to large hospitals/labs.  I wish there were some way to keep the cost down for running this particular machine (we have a Benchmark XT), but there isn't and costs can only go up, as they do every year.
However, we like Ventana, the technology, tech support, and sales support.  Our pathologists would walk if we ever stopped using it as it has provided them with the best, most reliable technology we have found on the market.

"How come every one talks about the reliability and walk away technology, but 
no one ever talks about the price of running these machines? Shouldn't cost 
be a factor also?
I've been in budget meetings all week. The only thing I heard was how 
expensive it is to run immunos." 

Julie Sanders, BA, HT(ASCP)
Supervisor, Anatomic Pathology
Cincinnati VAMC