Estimated annual cost of providing a DXA Service

Operating costs vary depending on the type of service provided but an example of typical annual operating costs is given below:

• Capital depreciation = £15,000
• Service contract = £6,500 (full contract covering all parts, labour and upgrades)
• 1.5 FTE Radiographer or Technologist = £43,000 (including overheads)
• 1 FTE Secretary / Receptionist = £14,000 (including overheads)
• 0.5 FTE Consultant = £37,500 (including overheads)
• Disposables = £4,000 (paper, discs, print cartridges etc)

Total = £120,000

Provided the scanners are fully utilised (4000 patients per annum), this corresponds to a cost of around £30 per patient.

If the workload is reduced to 2000 patients per annum, only 1 FTE Radiographer or Technologist and only 0.3 FTE consultant may be required but the cost increases to around £45 per patient.