Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Objectives: To study the hospital maintenance management and metrological characterization of biomedical equipment in the emergency area at a level III hospital, with respect to current legal framework. Methods/Analysis: The emergency area was monitored and information on hospital maintenance management and metrological management was obtained visually; then this information was verified and opportunities for improvement were identified (e.g. in some of the tasks carried out by the maintenance staff) through an instrument designed and provided by the: "Clean Production and Sustainable Consumption" project. It performed quantitative and qualitative assessment of the hospital’s management in the emergency service. Findings: This study helped to obtain first-hand information of what actions are being taken (in terms of maintenance management and its articulation with metrological management) at a high medical complexity hospital in Medellin, Colombia contrasted to other 3 hospitals and 2 clinics of the same complexity in which the project had already been implemented. In maintenance management, the institution studied is below the others. This is because it partially meets or does not comply with some evaluation criteria (such as performing predictive maintenance in the emergency service’s biomedical equipment or performing maintenance focused on reliability). Concerning metrology and its articulation with maintenance management, the studied institution is below the average. This is because there were items the hospital partially met or did not comply with (such as qualifications or having a prioritization maintenance service system in emergency area. Novelty/Improvement: It is recommended that IPS maintain the high scores obtained and re-structure the strategies for the improvement of those sub-items with low performance that reduce the reliability of the work. 

Keywords: Biomedical Metrology, Hospital Equipment, Maintenance, Medical Emergencies