Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals rely on a deep toolbox of life-saving tools. It’s their professional duty to keep these tools ready at all times.
But a medical device can cause harm if it’s misused or misconnected. Learn how to reduce these risks and protect patient safety.
Misuse
Medical equipment is used in hospitals, health care facilities and in patients’ homes to diagnose and treat medical conditions, directly impacting patient outcomes. In order to ensure that this equipment is safe and reliable, it needs to be properly maintained. However, a failure to maintain medical equipment can lead to patient harm and potentially even death. This is because of the many potential issues that could arise from a lack of proper maintenance including malfunctions, poor cleaning and insufficient monitoring.
One of the most common problems with medical equipment is that it is not correctly used by staff. Medical equipment is designed to be operated by healthcare professionals in a controlled clinical environment, but it is often too complex for laypeople to operate properly. This can cause a number of errors, such as medication mistakes or improper use of heart monitors. It can also result in faulty operation of equipment like ventilators which can cause fatal infections.
Another problem with medical equipment is that it is not properly cleaned and sterilized. Unsterilized equipment can transfer microorganisms from the operator to the device and then to patients, which can cause serious illnesses such as sepsis and bacteremia. It is important for healthcare professionals to know how to properly clean and disinfect medical devices and to follow all manufacturer instructions for this purpose.
Electrical medical equipment like X-ray machines and ultrasound scanners have the potential to create harmful electrical currents that can burn people or damage their internal organs. Therefore, it is vital that medical electrical equipment be properly grounded to prevent this from happening.
It is also important that hospital staff report any equipment-related issues they encounter to their supervisors so that they can be corrected. This will help to reduce the number of adverse incidents that occur because of a known problem with the equipment. This is why every hospital should have a process for reporting equipment hazards that is communicated clearly to all relevant staff members, such as through the use of a hospital incident reporting system or through medical product safety networks like MedSun.
Abuse
Whether by physical abuse or chemical breakdown, damaged medical devices can delay treatment and even put patients at risk. Devices can be damaged by cleaning solutions that weaken plastics; by dropping them; or by mishandling them. Devices may also malfunction due to a lack of regular maintenance. When a device’s batteries die or its display screen stalls, it can lead to delayed treatment while staff try to fix the device.
Medical equipment manufacturers, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities are held to a high standard of care when it comes to ensuring the safety of their patients. They are expected to keep a close eye on their inventory, train staff in proper use, and report any misuse of equipment as soon as it occurs.
Unfortunately, all too often, these organizations fail in their duty to protect patients from medical device abuse and other forms of fraud. One of the most common forms of healthcare fraud involves Medicare and Medicaid abuse through durable medical equipment (DME) billing scams. These schemes defraud taxpayers and take away funding from those who need it most. Whistleblowers who expose these fraudulent practices can help bring those responsible to justice and ensure that valuable healthcare dollars go to those who need them.
The FDA keeps a hidden database of reports on injuries and deaths related to medical devices, but it does not make this information available to the public or to doctors and medical experts. The information in this hidden database is valuable for improving medical device design and safety, but the fact that the FDA fails to share it with all stakeholders is a significant problem that could put thousands of patients at risk.
Doctors, nurses, aides, therapists, and technicians are all held to a high standard of care and must be trained on the proper handling and maintenance of medical equipment. They are also required to report any damage they observe on equipment and to notify their supervisor immediately. However, even the most competent team can be subject to human error. Manufacturers should design products that are robust and easy to use, but that is not enough.
Damage
As the name implies, medical equipment is used in the course of providing health care services. It consists of devices such as monitoring equipment, life support, laboratory equipment, mechanical and transport equipment, and many more specialized items that help medical professionals diagnose patients and treat them. Thousands of new medical devices are approved by the FDA each year, but they do not always undergo rigorous testing and can have unintended side effects. When these devices cause harm, victims can file product liability claims to recover compensation for their losses.
A hospital or other healthcare facility must carefully inspect, disinfect and clean its medical devices. However, if these devices are damaged in the process of cleaning or disinfection, they can no longer function properly and could pose serious risks to patients. This is known as equipment damage, and it is a leading cause of medical device malfunctions.
Whether caused by physical or chemical damage, improper disinfection and cleaning can lead to equipment damage, which in turn causes equipment failure and other complications. One medical equipment expert blames a majority of equipment damage on cleaning and disinfection, saying it is a “difficult balancing act” to effectively sterilize and disinfect devices while also limiting the time they are in contact with a patient’s skin.
A healthcare facility’s quality safety department must track equipment damage and make sure the data is available for other departments. To do so, it is crucial that the quality safety team conducts a device audit on a regular basis and reports all device damage to the hospital’s environment of care (EOC) committee. In addition, the EOC and clinical leadership teams should make departmental rounds on a regular basis and provide education on proper handling of devices. This can change the culture of the hospital and get everyone involved in the effort to keep patients safe from medical device injuries. If you are injured by a defective medical device, it is essential that you file a product liability claim against the at-fault party. Compensatory damages can help pay for your economic and non-economic losses, such as past and future medical expenses, lost income, property damage and pain and suffering.
Malfunction
Medical equipment manufacturers face severe scrutiny by the FDA when they make defective devices that can cause harm to patients. Manufacturer negligence can include design, manufacturing, and testing mistakes that could result in dangerous defects or hazards. For example, if a hip implant becomes loose or fails to heal after surgery, it can lead to more surgeries, pain, and other health complications.
The most common type of device malfunction is a failure to function properly or adequately. This can be due to a lack of training or a misunderstanding of the purpose and proper usage of the equipment. Another cause of malfunctions is poor maintenance and sterilization techniques. A faulty electrical or power supply could also cause a device to fail.
Many types of medical equipment have different functions, and each requires special assessment. In some cases, the device’s function can be impacted by its environment in the hospital or ward. For example, high temperatures in a room can affect the performance of an imaging machine, and an incorrect setting or calibration could cause a device to fail or become damaged.
Packaging errors can also contribute to a device malfunction, such as a syringe with an untight seal that causes air to enter and contaminate the contents. A packaging error could also be a result of faulty handling during shipping or storage.
Other causes of medical equipment malfunctions are a result of a manufacturing defect or a problem with the quality control procedure. These issues may not be obvious until a malfunction occurs in use, and it is important to have an efficient system for tracking and reporting these incidents.
It is important to have a good system in place to track and report any equipment malfunctions, as these incidents can have a significant impact on patients’ health and safety. A good way to minimize these incidents is to set clear-cut targets and stay in line with quality standards. It is also a good idea to train your staff in matters of proper equipment usage and safety, so they are more likely to notice an incident when it happens.