Medical equipment inventory and service scheduling by computer: experience with a working scheme

In Liverpool Health Authority a computer inventory of over 6000 items of medical equipment is used as an aid to servicing and management. Extracts from the inventory are used to guide work in several different servicing units and the cross-referencing facility is employed to provide lists of equipment by category (for example, manufacturer, hospital, department, cost band, age etc.). After four years' experience of this scheme we conclude that the costs are justified by the benefits to the equipment servicing programmes and to the management of equipment. However, the information made available for other purposes within the health authority (administration, supplies, finance etc.) has not been made use of to the extent that the whole cost could be justified as a management service. We have also found that the quality of inventory records and usage are improved where technicians can use the computer directly, and we find that medical physics technicians quickly come to understand such systems thereby minimizing support costs.