Managing Medical Equipment in Zambia

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Overview

Improving biomedical equipment management and maintenance in Zambia by providing a mobile application to assist biomedical technicians and their supervisors to register and to track biomedical equipment, to respond rapidly to requests for repair, and to create a schedule for preventive maintenance of biomedical equipment.

Context

The WHO estimates that 50-80% of medical equipment in developing countries is broken down or out of service. Consequently, many developing country hospitals like Zambia lack functioning medical equipment fordiagnosing, monitoring, treating and rehabilitating patients.In ZambiaTHET has been supporting biomedical training, improving infrastructure and procurement for biomedical repair and maintenance, and securing external practicum sites and supervisors for graduates of the biomedical training program.

Challenge

Biomedical technologists will face many difficulties upon entering the workforce related to lack of equipment management procedures both within hospitals and health centers, and at the Government level. These difficulties will be most pressing in the areas of procurement and supply of equipment, inappropriate biomedical equipment donations, and lack of knowledge amongst Government and Hospital administrators around the importance and cost effectiveness of preventive maintenance.

Solution

A proposal to develop and integrate countrywide hospital equipment management policies and procedures for the medical equipment life cycle using existing systems of inventory management and data capture and integrating procurement procedures and maintenance plans with national level plans.

Results

A complete proposal for THET, ready for submission to a potential funder, for a program to develop and integrate countrywide hospital equipment management policies and procedures for the medical equipment life cycle using existing systems of inventory management and data capture and integrating procurement procedures and maintenance plans for the national level.  The proposal includes an analysis of the situation and a review of evidence-based strategies to address the problem of repair and maintenance of biomedical equipment, a logic model demonstrating outcomes, outputs, activities and inputs for the program, the goals and objectives for the program, a work plan describing program activities, a project Gantt Chart, a monitoring and evaluation plan, a sustainability plan, and a budget for the program.

Project Timeline

This project took four months to complete from kick-off meeting to presentation of final deliverables. Click the button below for a detailed timeline.

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