Effective factors on the management of medical equipment maintenance in a military hospital: A qualitative study in Iran

Today, the role of medical equipment in providing services for patients and also the construction of hospitals is significant. Therefore, the importance of the management of medical equipment maintenance is increasing because of the rising costs of equipment and the costs of its maintenance. The aim of our study was to identify effective factors on the management of medical equipment maintenance in a military hospital. The current study was a qualitative research and performed by framework analysis. Managers and the experts of medical equipment of a military and training hospital were chosen purposefully. Data collection were conducted using a semi-structured interview and then were analyzed by a descriptive statistic and sorted by their frequencies. Among effective factors on the management of medical equipment maintenance, twenty six components were extracted. User training components, human resources, commitment and the experience of users, the foreign exchange market, periodic visits, and trade name were the most important components which had more than 75 percent of the relative abundance. According to the results, Factors with high importance on the management of medical equipment maintenance should be supported by the center's directors. Attention to the use of these components can reduce maintenance costs, and therefore increase the life of medical equipment.