Factors affecting utilization of medical diagnostic equipment: A study at a tertiary healthcare setup of Chandigarh

Abstract

Context: A quality patient diagnosis and clinical management are largely depending upon the availability of reliable medical diagnostic equipment. However, in Indian scenario, the lack of preventive maintenance, nonavailability of technology and spare parts, and nonavailability of required funds for maintenance are mainly responsible for the failure of equipment maintenance, and hence, their proper utilization. Aims: This study was focused to find out the deficiency in the utilization coefficient (UC) of medical diagnostic equipment and the various factors causing the under-utilization of these equipment. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in a tertiary health care setup at Chandigarh. Approximately, 30 medical diagnostic equipment were studied for their UC and simultaneously a perception based analysis was conducted, where the faculty and staff members concerned with the administrative matters and use of that particular medical diagnostic equipment were concerned. Factors such as low accessibility, obsolescence, break-down, affordability, availability of trained manpower, nonavailability of consumables and spares, maintenance delays, limited working hours, and restricted availability were taken into account. Results: On an average, 23% of these medical diagnostic equipment were not adequately utilized due to one reason or the other. Conclusions: It was concluded that the most crucial factors affecting the utilization of medical diagnostic equipment as per the perception of the respondents were obsolescence, nonavailability of spares, and maintenance delays.