ARTICLES / HOSPITAL
How to maintain medical equipment to provide first-class care
Hospitals around the world are witnessing an increase in the influx of patients. Consequently, there is a growing need to maintain hospital equipment and improve diagnostic facilities. The need for medical equipment and maintenance services is growing. Better health services should be accompanied by competent equipment management.
While the statistics show steady growth, the healthcare sector is struggling with the maintenance of hospital equipment. Why is this the case? Medical institutions and biomedical engineers face many challenges when designing maintenance services.
Coordination of service for medical equipment
With different types of equipment to be inspected, the service requirements can be overwhelming. This is particularly true in cases where equipment must be handled across different facilities. Coordination of schedules needs special attention for the following reasons:
- Manufacturers have different time intervals for service recommendations.
- Staff do not follow timelines for shipping equipment to manufacturers
- Not all medical assets have the same maintenance needs.
Seek manufacturer support
Most of the time, technicians are able to diagnose equipment problems and troubleshoot them on site. But in some cases, medical technicians lack familiarity with important machine components. This means that the equipment manufacturer must be contacted for support which is problematic without supplier information or a warranty card. Missing equipment data can make it difficult to maintain maintenance plans.
Arrangement for spare parts
Securing spare parts for defective equipment often becomes an obstacle in the way of effective maintenance routines. Suppliers may discontinue production of a particular component or miscalculate demand, resulting in the component not being available. In these cases, it helps to plan service routines in advance so that supply problems can be avoided.