A new proposal of quality indicators for clinical engineering

As we know from Stiefels paper "...we want to do our work right the first time and better the next time. But we really don't know whether we have done it right, or are doing it better, unless we have a measurement system for quality." Unfortunately, there is little agreement in the standardization of indicators used for evaluation of organizations related to medical equipment management. And those that do the first steps, always walk on thin ice. With this paper, we suggest a set of five quality indicators for the control and the evaluation of management for medical equipment maintenance. The indicators proposed allow the organization, that applies them, to easily correct and adjust their management programs, with a strive for improvement in results and quality and broadening their experiences. The selection of the indicators was executed according to those that are most used among leading health care organizations. Sometimes the indicators are labeled differently but the basic idea is the same, and therefore the results can be compared competitively and the potential of an organization can be displayed.