EBME Forums Forums Management Medical Equipment Management Standard list of medical equipment in a hospital

Wow!
Room planning now THAT will cost, due to the fact that many variables, Budget, Bed Capacity, Functions, Specialities Medical and Non-medical items etc. have to be considered before you can plan a room or indeed a hospital this means that any company or individual will charge you for these services, having planned and implemented several projects I do not come cheap. However a list of recommended equipment is not too much of a problem as it would be up to the end-user to accept or not and is only used as a guide.

What "Trust" are you talking about, Paul? Roman is in Uganda.

And anything that means expending big chunks of time (that is, like planning hospitals) needs to be charged for somehow.

PS: I also "do not come cheap" (although a bit cheaper than Neil, I should imagine).

Cheaper Than Me??, does not really matter about the price, as I have great difficulty doing site visits, don't think I could get the time off. At the moment I do a lot of consultancy work here apart from my day job and I am quite happy with that.

Moonlighting or not, the need for (expensive) site visits (and time-wasting "site meetings" - read as:- slanging matches, testosterone-driven ego trips etc.) is happily much reduced, now we are in the wondrous age of the ubiquitous "net"!

PS: perhaps it's a pity that the G20 Gravy Train has yet to cotton-on to this!

Good to hear from you again after we met at the east Africa cinference in Kisumu.I have seen you post and i shall be emailing you the list if I still have it in soft copy.

Hi Mate, its great to have someone from EastAfrica on this forum, where have you been? thanks , i actually got a list from Neil, it was very nice and that was brilliant of Neil sharing resources with other Biomeds, please we need to stepup our efforts in the struggle after the HTM conference in kisumu, better health equipment management in our hospitals will help patients and ourselves.

Cheers
Roman

Roman, here's a useful .pdf that I can across by accident.

Given my interest in "codes" in general (and "equipment codes" in particular), I notice that the document linked to above makes provision for the famous ECRI Codes (listed here against the Australian Device Groups, or ADG). The *ECRI Code system is handily (?) referred to these days as the Universal Medical Device Nomenclature System (or UMDNS), of course, and although I myself have traditionally not been a great fan of that particular system, it has become (as its name suggests) "universal", so I can't help but wonder why health agencies worldwide don't just adopt it per se.

But wait ... the document also mentions the UNSPSC Codes (see this .xls file). That's the United Nations Standard Product Service Code system, which provides an eight-digit code for seemingly every product (and service) under the sun (and therefore, to my mind at least, not particularly suited to the healthcare "industry"). Why not stick with the FSN (Federal Stock Number) system, I guess we are all wondering. That's the one used by NATO after all (and hence often referred to as NSN - or NATO Stock Number) and uses the format 6515-99-123-1234 (but, again, a bit weak when it came to medical items, I have always found).

Such "product codes" are also sometimes taken up for use in equipment maintenance systems (CMMS), where they may (or may not) be appropriate. **

That's the great thing about standards ... there are so many to choose from! Perhaps it now becomes clear why I have always used my own codes when involved in equipment projects. But it's one of the great things about databases, you can always cross-refer between whatever code you like and the one that the customer or client prefers.

Note 1: other equipment codes are available (many, in fact)! *

Note 2: HECS/AIMS uses UMDNS (as does Mariner). TaskMaster doesn't use it (but could be cross-referred in future revisions, depending upon "user demand")! **

Thanks Geoff, let me try opening it.


Roman

More on codes.

How about GMDN (... see what I mean about so many to choose from)?

The Global Medical Device Nomenclature builds upon (improves and expands) other, earlier, coding systems (such as UMDNS). I like the nomenclature and style that it uses. Let's just say that it is more "British" (than, for example, ECRI). I believe it to be "best of breed", but like all the others (and here's the rub, as far as I'm concerned), appears to require payment in some form or other (usually an annual licence fee).

I last bought the ECRI codes back in 1984 (in printed format then). I remember now why I have always used my own codes (not only for "devices", but also for project item numbers, equipment control numbers, PM procedures, parts stock numbers, room types ... and all the rest)! "Needs must" is the phrase that comes to mind. And now all freely available to anyone who needs them, can make use of them, or can even develop them further.

Agreed Geoff, standards are nice when you don't have to choose between them all. I also agree the UNSPSC is no use if you're trying to manage medical devices.

The GMDN vs UMDNS debate is very current - WHO at present deciding which way to jump or to let them slug it out. The GMDN does as you say include the old ECRI system but they are beginning to diverge as new devices are added.

The India website, by the way, is I hope going to make public later this year the templates of specs that are being developed there. The PDF linked, though, is only a tender listing and will not be a comprehensive standard resource - you'll need to add to it.

Andrew