Health technology asset management

Abstract The complete range of electromedical devices and systems bought by a hospital constitutes a valuable financial asset with capital and revenue resourcing requirements. Their selection, procurement, upkeep, and life cycle need to be carefully managed to ensure they are cost effective, up to date, and continue to support the corporate objectives of the healthcare organization. Managing healthcare technology and the risks involved should be governed by a strategic, organization-wide policy that informs and guides those who use and manage the technology. The term healthcare technology management (HTM) describes the scientific and technical support and financial stewardship of medical devices and clinical information technologies for the benefit of patients. This chapter focuses on the medical device management aspect of HTM, describing how clinical engineers manage the medical devices, ensure they are maintained in a satisfactory condition, and are kept available for use. This includes a discussion of how to develop device-specific equipment support plans and how to deal with the challenges of assigning often limited resources to execute these plans. The importance of delivering a health technology management programme within a quality cycle is emphasized.