EBME Forums Forums Management Medical Equipment Management GMDN

Neil,
When it comes to fault reporting you are right the "bed" is broken plus the assset number is all that is needed. But when it comes to planning equipment replacement or contracts you need to know exactly what you have.

John,
I have been going through GMDN and they seem to have got rid of the code for a simple ripple mattress e.g. Huntleigh Nimbus etc. There are overlays and specialist mattresses like low air loss and fluidise. I went to report this as needing a new number and realised they would charge me 200euros for the privilege.
Am I right?
Robert

Planning equipment replacements here is done through proper specifications not the name.

@Robert: please refer to the other current thread regarding "scams"!

(hint:- just bung in your own codes)

Robert

I think this one should do the job...

1. Alternating-pressure bed mattress overlay system
Categories: 04 Electro mechanical medical devices , 11 Assistive products for persons with disability
Alternating-pressure bed mattress overlay system P An assembly of devices consisting of an alternating-pressure bed mattress overlay and a dedicated pump, which also functions as the control unit, designed to actively alternate a bed occupant's bed-contact points, typically to relieve pressure points for comfort and to prevent pressure sores. It is commonly used for elderly immobilized (especially in cases of decubitus ulcers), patients with disabilities, or patients with low body fat. See also: Alternating-pressure pump; Alternating-pressure chair cushion system; Alternating-pressure bed mattress overlay, single-use; Alternating-pressure bed mattress overlay, reusable

John

p.s. any new codes should be paid for by the manufacturers.

I will remember to put that on my purchase requisition form next time I need a mattress

If you want only a mattress you should use this one Neil or you will get the wrong device!!!

14. Basic bed mattress
Categories: 05 Hospital hardware , 11 Assistive products for persons with disability
Basic bed mattress P A large, durable, fabric case filled with a resilient material designed to be placed on a bed mattress support platform to provide a comfortable surface on which an occupant can lie and rest/sleep. The device provides no special therapeutic effect.

John, I will just order using the part number thank you.

Just before the weekend sees this tread sinking below the horizon ... a question if I may:-

What is the maximum length of a GMDN code? And is any special format employed?

I shall probably be doing a bit of work on a Hospital Equipping Project database over the coming few days and may need to consider adding a field to allow the user to link to GMDN codes if need be.

GMDN codes that I have seen have not appeared particularly elegant, but perhaps I was looking at obsolete stuff. Two formats seem to be possible:- AA9999 and just 9999.

On a "historical note" in the past I have linked to:-

1) ADB (Activity Data Base) : AAA999
2) CSI (can't remember - Chartered Surveyors Institute, perhaps?)
3) ECRI (ECRI) : 99-9999
4) JSN (Joint Services Number - USA) : A9999
5) MOH (Saudi MoH) : A999 - although other formats were also used
6) UMDNS (UMDNS - based on ECRI) : 9999

... to name but six (and I am aware of others as well, but thankfully never had to use them).

From my notes seven characters have always been enough. What I may do is just bung in a blank (free-form) field, ten characters wide, for users to er, use as they see fit. After all, we never know what "new" codes will be introduced the week after next, do we?

Dear All
What a thread has started.

I did find the overlay code but it is an overlay and not a mattress it specifically says somewhere about putting on a conventional mattress. And the conventional mattress is just that. As for equipment replacement it is for planning purposes. If yuo want to know how many alternating pressure mattresses you have for example you just search on the GMDN code it your database tells you irrespecive of manufacturer model etc.

You say the manufacturer should pay, but remember the number is for an equipment type, so who is going to jump first then let all their competitors use it? If you are a subsciber once the number has been created you can use it.

Geoff as for the format used, it is infact very simple. The number is the next one in order when they decide on the device type. In other words absolutely no logic at all!!!!!!!! I was hoping for a structured system e.g. Patient diagnosis > Monitor > Multiparemeter monitor etc. etc. But no, there is no obvious logic at all. And the collective term codes (for those in the know) are not much help either as one device can come under several collective terms. So it is not very hierachical.

Why are we using it? Because it is now the "official" universal worldwide code and our group collective of trusts has decided to go for it.
The ECRI UNMDS numbers are a subset of GMDN.
Robert

Thanks for that, Robert.

Much as I had suspected then. To be honest ... apart from what we used to call "keeping up with Joneses"*, I can't see any point in adopting anything new if it isn't an improvement over what we had before!

I thought (or rather, had hoped) that the whole idea was to take what was good from what has been done in the past by others, shake it all up, and devise a logical system based upon hierarchies that could be developed (grown), rather than changing the codes every other week. Or am I missing something of value here?

I believe that a proper classification system should be so well conceived and robust that it could serve equipment of all types (including, for example, building fixtures and fittings, motor vehicles ... and everything else in between). For a classic example, see the FSN (the U.S. Federal cataloguing system).

If a system is limited to "medical" equipment only - where do you draw the line, even within a hospital?

* And that's not something that I find particularly appealing, I must admit.