Medical Equipment Aging

Abstract

As demonstrated in the first article of this series, some medical equipment types exhibit clear, progressive deterioration with age, whereas some others do not. Regardless of its aging behavior, equipment will eventually be replaced and disposed of for a variety of reasons—eg, its repair cost has become unjustifiable, it is no longer possible to repair, or its usefulness has been superseded by newer technologies. Although it is not possible to pinpoint the exact cause of each replacement or disposal, it is useful to understand when such action takes place during the equipment’s lifespan because this can help healthcare delivery organizations to better plan and conserve its capital resources while satisfying the needs and desires of their staff to provide safe and high-quality care. The results of an analysis of the disposal pattern of ~340 thousand pieces of equipment in the period of 30+ years show age is not the primary determinant for replacement or disposal. Most equipment is deployed well past the respective depreciation period and the end-of-life or end-of-support dates declared by their respective manufacturers, without significant negative impacts on patient care. In fact, the life expectancies estimated from the disposal data are typically double of American Hospital Association’s estimated useful lives. Such accomplishment is a testimony of the extraordinary efforts made by clinical engineering/healthcare technology management professionals in keeping equipment safe and reliable in the most cost-effective manner for a very long time.