Performance assessment of medical technology in the Intensive Care Unit based on quality indicators

As the demand for quality health services has been increasing, the problem has been approached from different perspectives in order to obtain tools for the assessment of every aspect of quality. In the case of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), it is important to have elements that respond in a punctual and timely way to the patient demands given he/she is in a high vulnerability state. The technological resources in ICU are essential for the patient to receive the needed care in life support and monitoring. In this work a first approach to quality assessment in the ICU through the implementation of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on the use and management of medical technology was developed. Six KPIs were defined covering aspects of Quality Service, Reliability, Credibility, Competitiveness, Security, Accessibility, and Communication, and were applied to three different hospital ICUs. The results showed which elements should be prioritized and led to the development of practical measures to improve the medical technology´s performance. It also identified areas of opportunity to provide intensive care clinical areas with better control and quality standards, implementing procedures for review and verification of information.