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Key Considerations for the Introduction of a Healthcare Technology Management Program in Remote Locations

J. B. Robson

DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-1633.2016.02.001

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.

2016 Vol. 31 (2): 1-5 [摘要] ( 330 ) HTML (35 KB) PDF (1408 KB) ( 354 )