Medical Equipment Maintenance: Management and Oversight

Abstract

Lectures in Biomedical Engineering will be comprised of 75-to 150-page publications on advanced and state-of-the-art topics that spans the field of biomedical engineering, from the atom and molecule to large diagnostic equipment. Each lecture covers, for that topic, the fundamental principles in a unified manner, develops underlying concepts needed for sequential material, and progresses to more advanced topics. Computer software and multimedia, when appropriate and available, is included for simulation, computation, visualization and design. The authors selected to write the lectures are leading experts on the subject who have extensive background in theory, application and design. The series is designed to meet the demands of the 21st century technology and the rapid advancements in the all-encompassing field of biomedical engineering that includes biochemical, ABSTRACTIn addition to being essential for safe and effective patient care, medical equipment also has significant impact on the income and, thus, vitality of healthcare organizations. For this reason, its maintenance and management requires careful supervision by healthcare administrators, many of whom may not have the technical background to understand all of the relevant factors. This book presents the basic elements of medical equipment maintenance and management required of healthcare leaders responsible for managing or overseeing this function. It will enable these individuals to understand their professional responsibilities, as well as what they should expect from their supervised staff and how to measure and benchmark staff performance against equivalent performance levels at similar organizations.The book opens with a foundational summary of the laws, regulations, codes, and standards that are applicable to the maintenance and management of medical equipment in healthcare organizations. Next, the core functions of the team responsible for maintenance and management are described in sufficient detail for managers and overseers. Then the methods and measures for determining the effectiveness and efficiency of equipment maintenance and management are presented to allow performance management and benchmarking comparisons. The challenges and opportunities of managing healthcare organizations of different sizes, acuity levels, and geographical locations are discussed. Extensive bibliographic sources and material for further study are provided to assist students and healthcare leaders interested in acquiring more detailed knowledge.

Preventive Maintenance Optimization in Healthcare Domain: Status of Research and Perspective

“…Likewise, [22] recapped several types of MD maintenance activities consisting of repair, replacement, or inspections. The paper [5] dispelled a misunderstanding related to MD maintenance which is "the more maintenance the better" and introduced the analogous concept "evidence-based maintenance." A high completion rate of scheduled maintenance is not a good indicator of maintenance effectiveness (reliabilityavailability-safety) and efficiency (overall costs), to the extent that evidence-based maintenance would be a continual improvement process that analyzes the effectiveness and efficiency of maintenance policy deployed in comparison to outcomes attained.…”

“…Maintenance excellence can be achieved by making the rational maintenance decision balancing costs and industrial performance [4]. It is worth mentioning that the amount, multiplicity, sophistication, and costs of medical equipment are abruptly rising, which make that their maintenance complexity and costs also escalate sharply in the last few years [5]. In addition to maintenance expenditure, medical devices (MD) are frequently involved in patient incidents (death or injury) [6].…”

Estimation of the optimal maintenance frequency of medical devices: A Monte Carlo simulation approach

“…The annual cost of maintenance (corrective and preventive), as a fraction of the total operating budget can be as high as 40%-50% for the mining industry [2], 20%-30% for the chemical industry [3], and 1% for medical devices in hospital settings [4]. Unavailability of devices causes economical loses in production lines.…”

A Hybrid Decision-Making Model for Maintenance Prioritization in Health Care Systems

“…The same study (Jamshidi et al, 2014) indicates that maintenance costs represent nearly 1% of the total hospital budget, so hospitals use up around 8 million US$/year. As well as high maintenance costs, statistics ensued by Joint Commission (TJC) highlight that medical equipment is often engaged in patient incidents that lead to grave injuries and deaths (Wang, 2012). In fact, inadequate maintenance and performance degradation of medical devices create an unacceptable risk level.…”

“…These programs appeal for an effective and efficient framework to prioritize medical devices for appropriate maintenance decisions based on key criteria (Wang, 2012). The boosted complexity of the organizational context resulted in numerous variables to consider among numerous alternatives.…”