Health Technology Management: The Hidden Limiting Factor to Healthcare Access

Functioning medical equipment is critical for effective healthcare delivery worldwide. As such, efficient health technology management (HTM) is a key determinant of the quality of care available in any healthcare facility. Without proper HTM, resource-limited facilities are faced with a lack of medical supplies and equipment that are operational and safe for clinical use.

In the pursuit of advancing healthcare delivery in marginalized communities of Ghana, GMH has spearheaded three impactful biomedical engineering projects aimed at addressing critical gaps in HTM. These initiatives underscore GMH’s commitment to fostering efficient healthcare practices, ensuring equipment operability, and enhancing the overall quality of care.

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Project A: Medical Equipment Management System (MEMS) Development

Poor HTM in lower-income countries such as Ghana is partly due to a lack of data-driven systems for reporting, documenting, and prioritizing equipment maintenance. When properly implemented, these systems allow healthcare facilities to assess and optimize their maintenance practices and spending, helping them make the most of their limited resources for equipment maintenance.

One such system is the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), a software database designed to document maintenance-related data, with the ultimate goal of enhancing HTM.

COMPUTERIZED MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: UTILITY & PITFALLS

In the healthcare setting, CMMS is a computer-based software that serves to create a comprehensive inventory database of hospital equipment and document maintenance-related data. By centralizing equipment inventory and associated equipment maintenance data to a single database, CMMS allows healthcare facilities to assess and adjust their maintenance practices, especially regarding the distribution of resources and funding for health technology management.

Since 2020, GMH has been working with biomedical engineers from Canada and Ghana to develop a comprehensive CMMS using Microsoft Access, which is currently being piloted in two hospitals in the Upper East Region. Unfortunately, storing maintenance data on local hospital computers makes the data highly vulnerable to loss and significantly limits regional information sharing between healthcare facilities. For this reason, it was critical to transition to a more robust web-based CMMS.

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: THE WEB-BASED CMMS

GMH is actively developing the Medical Equipment Management System (MEMS), a web-based CMMS designed to overcome the limitations of the current CMMS system as outlined above. Accessible through any web browser, MEMS enables multi-site data sharing, improved data security, and greater accessibility, leading to stronger HTM practices and better healthcare delivery.

The GMH team has been working on the revised MEMS since 2022. Once refined and tested, the hope is to implement and pilot it across hospitals in northern Ghana and then expand its use to the rest of the country. Local technical support, hardware, and internet connectivity are already in place to support the software’s implementation.

AN OPEN-SOURCE INITIATIVE

Recognizing the global need for HTM solutions, GMH is committed to making the MEMS software open-source, enabling its utilization by health systems and individuals worldwide. By disseminating research findings, GMH aims to support other agencies in improving rural global health.

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Project B: Annual Biomedical Engineering Training Conference

GMH hosts an annual biomedical engineering training conference, bringing together approximately 30 Upper Region engineers for a four-day educational event. The curriculum, tailored with the help of annual needs assessments, consists of theoretical and hands-on workshops that address knowledge gaps among biomedical engineers.

SUCCESS AND IMPACT

Since its inception in 2016, the conference has successfully bridged knowledge disparities, created mentorship pathways, and boosted morale among northern Ghanaian engineers. The 2023 conference, held from May 19-22, was particularly noteworthy, featuring GMH volunteer Martin Poulin, Engineering Manager of Vancouver Island Health Authority, as an instructor. Martin’s participation and equipment donations supported by the CMBES Tools for Techs Campaign were a testament to the global collaboration driving this initiative.

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Project C: Maintenance Tools and Equipment Donation

The WHO estimates that 50-80% of donated equipment in countries like Ghana is non-functional, leading to disposal challenges and the formation of equipment graveyards in healthcare facilities.

To address this issue, GMH aims to provide every biomedical engineer in Northern Ghanaian hospitals with a standard engineering toolkit, ensuring that they are well-equipped to tackle their maintenance duties. An annual needs assessment helps determine the most critical equipment for preventative maintenance and repair, guiding targeted donations to marginalized hospitals in the Upper Regions to ensure these healthcare facilities have functional, lifesaving medical equipment.

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