An intelligent healthcare management system: a new approach in work-order prioritization for medical equipment maintenance requests

J Med Syst. 2012 Apr;36(2):557-67. doi: 10.1007/s10916-010-9501-4. Epub 2010 May 4.

Abstract

The effective maintenance management of medical technology influences the quality of care delivered and the profitability of healthcare facilities. Medical equipment maintenance in Jordan lacks an objective prioritization system; consequently, the system is not sensitive to the impact of equipment downtime on patient morbidity and mortality. The current work presents a novel software system (EQUIMEDCOMP) that is designed to achieve valuable improvements in the maintenance management of medical technology. This work-order prioritization model sorts medical maintenance requests by calculating a priority index for each request. Model performance was assessed by utilizing maintenance requests from several Jordanian hospitals. The system proved highly efficient in minimizing equipment downtime based on healthcare delivery capacity, and, consequently, patient outcome. Additionally, a preventive maintenance optimization module and an equipment quality control system are incorporated. The system is, therefore, expected to improve the reliability of medical equipment and significantly improve safety and cost-efficiency.

MeSH terms

  • Artificial Intelligence*
  • Efficiency, Organizational
  • Equipment and Supplies, Hospital*
  • Health Priorities
  • Hospital Administration*
  • Humans
  • Jordan
  • Maintenance and Engineering, Hospital / organization & administration*
  • Software*