ABSTRACT
As medical technology continues to evolve, so does its impact on patient outcome, hospital operations, and financial efficiency. The ability to plan for this evolution and its subsequent implications has become a major challenge in most decisions of health care organizations and their related industries. Therefore, there is a need to adequately plan for and apply those management tools which optimize the deployment of medical technology and the facilities that house it. Successful management of the technology and facilities will ensure a good match between the needs and the capabilities of staff and technology, respectively. While different types and sizes of hospitals will consider various strategies of actions, they all share the need to manage efficient utilization of their limited resources and its monitoring. Technology is one of these resources, and while it is frequently cited as the culprit behind cost increases, the well-managed technology program contribute to a significant containment of the cost of providing quality patient care. Clinical engineer’s skills and expertise are needed to facilitate the adoption of an objective methodology for implantation of a program that will match the hospital’s needs and operational conditions. Whereas
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both the knowledge and practice patterns of management in general are well organized in today’s literature, the management of the health care delivery system and that of medical technology in the clinical environment has not yet reached that same high level. However, as we begin to understand the relationship between the methods and information that guide the decision-making processes regarding the management of medical technology that are being deployed in this highly complex environment, the role of the qualified clinical engineer becomes more valuable. This is achieved by reformulating the technology management process, which starts with the strategic planning process, continues with the technology assessment process, leads to the equipment planning and procurement processes, and finally ends with the assets management process. Definition of terms used in this chapter are provided at the end of the chapter.
