How to Manage Equipment Loss in the Hospital

Health care is expensive. Saving money helps reduce the cost of health care. One way to save money is by managing hospital equipment. Equipment used in health care is costly and replacing equipment may take money away from the hospital's budget. Keeping track of hospital equipment can help prevent equipment loss saving the hospital money. There are several simple ways to manage hospital equipment in an attempt to prevent loss.

Instructions

Proper Management of Hospital Equipment can Prevent Loss and Save Money

• 1

  Assign equipment to each floor. Shared equipment, such as monitors, IV pumps and poles, may prove the most difficult to manage and prevent loss because it is used by a large number of people. One way to help prevent the loss of shared equipment is to assign equipment to each floor to be used among those on that specific floor only. Equipment can be marked with the floor number that it is assigned to, making it easier for it to be returned should it accidentally find its way off the floor. An area on each floor can be designated as the equipment storage area making the equipment easy to find and access when needed.

• 2

  Using a check out sheet can help keep track of equipment

  Use a check-out sheet to help monitor equipment use. One way to prevent the more expensive equipment from being lost is to require that staff members sign out the equipment for use. Making employees take responsibility for the equipment will help assure the equipment remains in the hospital. A checkout sheet can be signed by the employee who can write their name, what equipment they are taking and the serial number or product number of the equipment. Hospitals that use employee badges may consider a checkout system that allows the employee to scan their badge and scan a tag on the piece of equipment to check it out.

• 3

  Utilize audible alarms. Place an alarm, comparable to what is used in an electronics department, on more expensive equipment or equipment that is not easily replaced, to help prevent it from being lost. Exits can be equipped and alarm tags placed onto the equipment that will result in an audible alarm should the equipment pass through the exit. The alarm system can sound an alarm over the entire floor or at a specific location such as the nurses' station. The alarm system can be temporarily disarmed when it is necessary for a piece of equipment to leave the floor.

• 4

  Marking equipment with easy to see labels can help identify it as hospital property.

  Place labels on equipment to mark them as hospital property. Put colorful labels that are seen easily on equipment, allowing staff members to recognize it as hospital property. Equipment that is used for transporting patients outside of the facility, such as wheelchairs, can easily be mistaken for the patient's personal property rather than belonging to the hospital. Brightly colored wheels or flags can be placed onto the hospital's wheelchairs making them quickly identified as hospital property. Hospital departments that may be unable to assign equipment to each specific floor, such as the physical therapy department, can benefit from marking its equipment with colored labels identifying it as both the hospital and department's equipment.

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• 5

  Use central supply as a way to keep track of equipment. Shared equipment can be kept in central supply requiring employees to check the equipment out when needed for use and checked in when returned. Central supply staff members can make sure that each piece of equipment is checked out or returned. Employees working in central supply can help prevent equipment loss by noticing patterns in previously lost equipment. If one floor appears to be requesting certain pieces of equipment more than other floors, a notation can be made for managers to assure equipment is not being misplaced instead of returned to central supply.