J. B. Robson
Establishment of a healthcare technology management program in remote locations requires
the same consideration as programs in mainstream healthcare facilities but with an added emphasis
on clarity of process, ownership of responsibility, management of resources and communication of
roles. The author shares the experiences of clinical engineering personnel from the South Australian
Biomedical Engineering Service (SA BME) based in Adelaide who are often required to travel thousands
of kilometers by road to provide onsite assistance at over 100 rural and city sites. Effective remote
service delivery requires a reliance on site based healthcare workers and local contractors to help manage
the clinical engineering issues and risks associated with owning or using healthcare technology with an
added role for SA BME staff to manage, foster and regulate this assistance. This paper outlines the policy
document published throughout South Australia by the state government’s health department, directing all
stakeholders involved in the use and ownership of healthcare technology on their role in the Management
of Healthcare Technology. With an emphasis on assuring this technology is safe, effective, available
and compliant this policy directive is an example of an essential foundation document that should exist
wherever clinical engineering services are applied including sites where no clinical engineering personnel
are based. This paper outlines the key elements of this directive, how it was developed and how it is
used to achieve clarity of process and ownership of roles. Of essential importance when establishing
a healthcare technology management program is its nexus with relevant industry, country and global
philosophies. In Australia fundamental technology management principles are collated through Standards
Australia the nation's peak non-government Standards organization charged by the Commonwealth
Government to meet Australia's need for contemporary, internationally aligned Standards and related
services. The particularly relevant Standard is the document titled AS/NZS 3551:2012 “Management
programs for medical equipment”. The essential principle of risk management outlined in AS/NZS3551
is described in this paper. It is also important when implementing a healthcare technology management
program that an independent audit and/or accreditation program is incorporated and that this program
is an integral part of the overall quality program of the healthcare service. This will ensure that the
relative importance of a healthcare technology program is considered in competition with the many other
priorities of delivering healthcare. This paper outlines a two-step process for quality assurance: a state
wide reporting regime and a national accreditation program. Essential to the quality assurance program is
the collection and maintenance of relevant information that reports the demographics of the technology
fleet and a history of the engineering interventions and quality assurance processes carried out on that
fleet. This paper introduces the SA BME approach to record keeping and evidence based decision
making. This paper also summarises key process, resource and communication strategies useful when
introducing a healthcare technology management program that involves remote locations.