ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine what factors have a significant influence on the performance of medical device maintenance outsourcing, and to determine how the performance of external governance structures differs depending on whether a hospital is private or public. METHODS: This was a longitudinal study of 590 maintenance transactions at 20 hospitals in Bogotá, Colombia, involving 764 medical devices and 72 maintenance service providers. Maintenance performance data (i.e., turn-around time in hours; TAT) for the service providers (either in-house or outsourced) were primarily collected over a 20-month period, from December 2009-August 2011, by means of a monitoring procedure; then, a hazards model was run. RESULTS: The availability of specific repair parts, in-stock, in the city in which the medical devices were located, had a positive impact on the performance of both internal and external governance structures. Online service also had a positive impact on both, with a stronger positive impact on the performance of internal governance than on that of external governance. For transactions governed by external structures, better performance was seen in private hospitals than in public ones. In public health institutions, internal governance showed better performance than external governance. Both internal and external governance structures showed better performance in private healthcare institutions than in public ones. CONCLUSIONS: In public health institutions, internal governance shows better performance than external governance; this suggests that healthcare managers should reconsider the trend to eliminate in-house maintenance service staff in public healthcare institutions.
Subject(s)
Equipment and Supplies , Maintenance and Engineering, Hospital , Outsourced Services , Colombia , Longitudinal Studies , Maintenance and Engineering, Hospital/statistics & numerical data , Outsourced Services/statistics & numerical dataABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine what factors have a significant influence on the performance of medical device maintenance outsourcing, and to determine how the performance of external governance structures differs depending on whether a hospital is private or public. METHODS: This was a longitudinal study of 590 maintenance transactions at 20 hospitals in Bogotá, Colombia, involving 764 medical devices and 72 maintenance service providers. Maintenance performance data (i.e., turn-around time in hours; TAT) for the service providers (either in-house or outsourced) were primarily collected over a 20-month period, from December 2009-August 2011, by means of a monitoring procedure; then, a hazards model was run. RESULTS: The availability of specific repair parts, in-stock, in the city in which the medical devices were located, had a positive impact on the performance of both internal and external governance structures. Online service also had a positive impact on both, with a stronger positive impact on the performance of internal governance than on that of external governance. For transactions governed by external structures, better performance was seen in private hospitals than in public ones. In public health institutions, internal governance showed better performance than external governance. Both internal and external governance structures showed better performance in private healthcare institutions than in public ones. CONCLUSIONS: In public health institutions, internal governance shows better performance than external governance; this suggests that healthcare managers should reconsider the trend to eliminate in-house maintenance service staff in public healthcare institutions.
OBJETIVO: Establecer los factores que influyen significativamente en el desempeño del mantenimiento de los dispositivos médicos mediante contratación externa, y determinar cómo difiere el desempeño de las estructuras externas de gobernanza según un hospital sea privado o público. MÉTODOS: Se realizó un estudio longitudinal de 590 transacciones de mantenimiento en 20 hospitales de Bogotá (Colombia), que incluyeron 764 dispositivos médicos y 72 proveedores de servicio de mantenimiento. Por medio de un procedimiento de vigilancia, se recopilaron principalmente datos de desempeño del mantenimiento (es decir, el plazo de entrega en horas) por parte de los proveedores del servicio (ya fuera este interno o externalizado) durante un período de 20 meses, desde diciembre del 2009 a agosto del 2011; a continuación, se aplicó un modelo de riesgos. RESULTADOS: La disponibilidad de piezas de repuesto específicas en existencia en la misma ciudad en que se ubicaban los dispositivos médicos tuvo una repercusión positiva sobre el desempeño de ambas estructuras de gobernanza, la interna y la externa. El servicio en línea también tuvo una repercusión positiva en el desempeño de ambas estructuras; pero esta repercusión fue más intensa en el desempeño de la gobernanza interna que en el de la externa. En cuanto a las transacciones regidas por estructuras externas, se observó un mejor desempeño en los hospitales privados que en los públicos. En las instituciones de salud pública, la gobernanza interna mostró un mejor desempeño que la externa. Ambas estructuras de gobernanza mostraron un mejor desempeño en las instituciones de atención de salud privadas que en las públicas. CONCLUSIONES: En las instituciones de salud pública, la gobernanza interna muestra un mejor desempeño que la externa; ello indica que los gerentes de atención de salud deben reconsiderar la tendencia a eliminar al personal de los servicios de mantenimiento interno de las instituciones públicas de atención de salud.