Maximize Medical Device Utilization
Optimizing Healthcare Efficiencies and Budgets in the World of Connected Medical Devices
Real-Time | Data-Driven
Healthcare providers and hospitals constantly face budget challenges and are in constant pursuit of maximum efficiency. The emergence of connected medical devices and its explosive growth is challenging HTM (Health Technology Management) and Clinical Engineering teams who strive to stay efficient and control costs. A recent study shed light on the challenges in the world of connected medical equipment.
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The ORDR SCE is a fully automated solution that arms HTM and Clinical Engineers with meaningful insights in real-time to help optimize the operational efficiency of their expensive equipment and make data-driven decisions on maintenance, capital planning and avoidance:
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¹ Out of Control – How clinical asset proliferation and low utilization are draining healthcare budgets
² Ibid
Real-Time Inventory
It all starts with accurate inventory of all medical and IoT devices. The ORDR SCE gathers real-time inventory information in a fully automated way, but using a passive approach that does not impact the device. ORDR sees the device the moment it becomes active in the network, records operational activity, and records the time it goes offline. Real-time inventory information is extremely useful in many ways.
Device information from type/model/modality, serial numbers to software information can provide the following insights:
- Automatic categorization for ease of management
- Devices that are connected vs in use, for how long and their activities
- Device network location information for tracking and comparison
Classification Profiles
ORDR's Classification Profiles view (a live dashboard, not reproduced here) lets HTM teams filter and browse all discovered device profiles — e.g. infusion pumps, patient monitors, imaging modalities — each tagged with a live device count and learning/active status.
Track Utilization of High-Capital Equipment
Devices Utilization
Device Type | Devices | Under Utilization | Over Utilization |
Total Devices: 100 (Under Utilization 25% / Over Utilization 25% overall) | |||
MRI | 39 | 18% | 8% |
CT Scanner | 21 | 0% | 17% |
X-Ray Angiography | 5 | 5% | 5% |
X-Ray System | 10 | 55% | 45% |
High capital imaging devices like MRI, CT Scanners, and X-Ray machines are investments that need to be used effectively for better ROI. The ORDR SCE is always ON and gathers this information from the network in real-time that is otherwise very hard to track. These detailed usage insights provided by the ORDR SCE greatly improves capital planning and avoidance:
- Identify underutilized high-capital equipment to increase the utilization by 25% or more
- Provides Study count and Image count which could be used to optimize maintenance/parts-replacement schedule and potentially increase the life span of the medical devices
- Reduce re-setup time with the “Body parts examined” metrics
- Compare and contrast device utilization across different facilities to identify and improve operational efficiency of under-utilized equipment
- Understand the usage patterns along with ordered physician name providing insights to adjust working hours/schedules
Utilization Details and Comparison — Example Device Detail
Field | Value |
Device Id | 00:50:56:F2:B1:1C |
Start Time | 2/13/2021 12:00:00 AM |
Stop Time | 2/14/2021 12:00:00 AM |
In-Use | 9 hr 32 min (40%) |
Study Count | 24 |
Image Count | 1,789 |
Track Utilization of Fleet Equipment
Medical devices like Infusion pumps, Patient monitoring systems, ECG's have different characteristics and challenges. ORDR SCE's highly customizable user interface does auto grouping of fleet devices to present fleet utilization. The utilization is customizable for the working hours of the hospitals/departments in order to provide meaningful data:
- Consistent high usage or bursty usage help decide whether to buy or rent fleet equipment
- Compare across facilities and decide how well they can be distributed
- Identify fleet devices that are offline and put them back in service
- Reduce detective work for nurses and technicians, potentially saving 20 mins per shift per employee
Utilization of Infusion Pump — Example Fleet Snapshot
Metric | Value |
Device Category | Infusion Pump |
Interval Start | 3/22/2021 12:00:00 AM |
Interval End | 3/22/2021 11:59:59 PM |
Interval Duration | 1 day |
Total Tracked Devices | 334 |
Devices In-Use | 285 |
Devices Not In-Use | 49 |
Overall In-Use % | 85% |
Hours Some Devices Were In-Use | 24 hours |
Hourly In-Use Device Count Peak At | 8/22/2018 1:00 PM |
Peak Hourly In-Use Device Count | 209 |
Peak Hourly In-Use % | 62% |
Average Hourly In-Use Device Count | 188 |
Average Hourly In-Use % | 56% |
Putting It All Together
To make it all work, HTM and Clinical Engineering teams need a flexible way to manage the medical devices operation schedule in order to get accurate utilization information.
Active Duty Scheduler — Example Schedule (“Extended Hours”)
Hour | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
6:00 AM | 13% | 12% | 11% | 12% | 12% | 11% | 11% |
7:00 AM | 13% | 13% | 12% | 13% | 13% | 10% | 13% |
8:00 AM | 11% | 11% | 12% | 11% | 12% | 10% | 13% |
9:00 AM | 12% | 11% | 13% | 12% | 12% | 11% | 10% |
10:00 AM | 13% | 12% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 11% |
11:00 AM | 12% | 11% | 12% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 10% |
12:00 PM | 11% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 12% | 10% | 11% |
1:00 PM | 11% | 11% | 12% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 10% |
2:00 PM | 10% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 12% | 10% | 9% |
3:00 PM | 12% | 10% | 11% | 11% | 12% | 10% | 10% |
4:00 PM | 11% | 11% | 10% | 11% | 14% | 10% | 10% |
5:00 PM | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 3% | 1% | 1% |
6:00 PM | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 2% | <1% | 1% |
7:00 PM | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | <1% | 1% |
Illustrative example values from the ORDR SCE Active Duty Scheduler UI, showing the percentage of scheduled active hours by day and hour.
Comparison of Device Utilization Between Facilities
To make the right comparison, ORDR SCE provides the ability to filter and compare between facilities. In one example view across five facilities (Fremont, Menlo Park, Monterey, San Jose – North, Sunnyvale), a fleet of 12 CT scanners showed:
Status | Devices | % of Fleet |
Underutilized | 0 | 0% |
Normal | 12 | 100% |
Overutilized | 0 | 0% |
(All 12 monitored CT scanners were running at Normal utilization, each around 23–29%, per the ORDR SCE comparison view.)
Reduce Downtime and Improve ROI
Wouldn't it be wonderful to:
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ORDR SCE's utilization and analytics metrics can be used to determine the longevity of certain medical devices.
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Conclusion
The annual spend on medical devices runs into the multi-millions every year and is the bulk of total spending of any hospital. Armed with real-time and accurate utilization data from the ORDR Systems Control Engine, HTM and Clinical Engineering teams can confidently make key decisions to optimize device usage for increased cost saving and a better patient experience.
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