Is Healthcare Device Registry Compulsory?

Short answer is yes. Based on EU law all healthcare devices should be tracked. Besides, efficiently tracking healthcare devices is also vital for patient safety. 

In this blog post, we’ll outline crucial features to consider when selecting right tool for healthcare device tracking.

The most important features for healthcare device tracking tool

Here is a list that highlights the most important functions of a healthcare device register. 

Monitoring scheduled maintenance:
Every healthcare device has a maintenance interval and inspections/maintenance/calibrations need to be performed accordingly. This means that one must have a proactive system that continuously monitors which devices need to be serviced at any given time.

Hazards and faults:
Hazards and faults must be monitored and recorded for every device. Haipro notifications are also required.

Trained personnel:
There must be the ability to record who has completed training for the use of every device.

Attachments:
operating instructions, maintenance certificates, training certificates, etc. must be possible to upload to the devices.

Asset management for healthcare devices

 Besides doing the minimum, you should also consider these features that add significant value to the monitoring of your devices throughout their lifecycle.

Available devices:
It is important to have an overview of the devices. Are there unused devices in any offices / departments? Do we really need to buy new devices?

Decommissioning devices:
The management should be aware of when and which devices are coming to the end of their life cycles. When is the time to budget for replacement?

Rented devices:
Devices are usually financed through multiple providers and therefore it is convenient to know the start and end dates of all your lease contracts. This way there won’t be interruptions to the usage of device and terminations can be done in time.

Borrowed devices:
Various aid devices are borrowed a lot, so keeping track of their locations and users is critical.

Frequency of repair:
A good device register utilizes repair and maintenance data to optimize device usage. This is valuable information for your purchasing department which has to consider it worthwhile to continue servicing a device or whether it is more cost-effective to buy a new one.

Life cycle costs:
it is beneficial to be able to compare costs of a device life cycle to the purchase price. When should you decommission the device and not continue to incur increasing maintenance expenses?

Inventory:
Device inventory is often a laborious process that is performed manually. For example IDR inventory is done by simply touching the IDR smart sticker on the device. This is a lot faster and more reliable than doing inventory manually.