Werth, J; Furniss, D; (2012) Medical Equipment Library design: Revealing issues and best practice using DiCoT. In: IHI'12 - Proceedings of the 2nd ACM SIGHIT International Health Informatics Symposium. (pp. 583 - 592). ACM Press: New York, US.

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Abstract

Medical Equipment Libraries (MELs) are a relatively new function for hospitals in the UK, which aim to save money and make medical practice safer. They centralize the management, maintenance and purchasing of medical equipment. They are being embraced and developed by some hospitals, and considered by others. Hence, there is a growing need to understand MEL practice and design. This paper compares three MELs through interviews and observations of everyday practice using DiCoT (Distributed Cognition for Teamwork) as a method for multisite comparison. This is a novel use of the method that reveals general issues and best practices across contexts. Our results complement the little formal information that is available on MELs, and explores the workings of the library as a socio-technical system. As far as we are aware no empirical studies have been published in this area. We conclude with design opportunities and requirements for MELs, and propose DiCoT as an effective way to compare socio-technical systems, including revealing issues and best practices in other clinical contexts more broadly.

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