Evaluation of Performance Outcomes of Medical Equipment Technology Management and Patient Safety: Skilled Clinical Engineer’s Approach

Abstract

With the rapid development of medical equipment technology, the quality of patient care becomes under the spotlight of clinical engineering management of medical equipment since the past 4 decades and it is continually. Researchers give in-depth attention to minimize undesired incidents which are associated with medical and surgical equipment such as patients' unnatural deaths and injuries. This proposed research work investigates the relationship between performance outcomes of medical equipment technology management/patient-care technology and the reduction in undesired events like injury and even unnatural deaths. This proposed research work investigates the effect of varying levels of performance on quality of patient care and uses an indicator such as patient safety (PS) and cost-effective care by applying mathematical modeling of clinical engineering approach methodology to medical equipment technology management. In this study the quality model of Clinical Engineering Departments is determined by educational qualification, Clinical Engineering (CE) certification, training, and duration of experiences in this field. The standard performance of patient-care technology management is determined by the parameters of medical devices and the outcomes performance of medical equipment is determined. Data for this study was collected from 18 countries including from high, upper and lower-middle income regions. We were able to collect and analyze data of different performance levels of CE and biomedical engineering programs. The analysts' report measures the performance outcomes of Medical Equipment Technology Management System (METMS) and its impact on patient-care outcomes specifically impact on the reduction of patient risk factors associated with medical and surgical equipment. The findings should encourage researchers and healthcare stakeholders to better integrate the clinical engineering professionals in a hospital in order to achieve a safe functional condition of medical equipment to keep its scheduled life span in compliance with recommended span declared by manufactures. Cost-effective Clinical Engineering Department (CED) model can be designed and monitored through the methodology of this study. We hope that this study will motivate the deployment of senescence methodology for conventional electro-medical assets, by biomedical engineering and medical professionals, healthcare policymakers, equipment users, and vendors to improve outcomes as proposed by the research work described in this paper.