Standardization of failure codes and nomenclature of medical devices for Evidence-Based Maintenance

Biomedical technologies should be managed and maintained starting from the evidence provided by data. In this way, Clinical Engineering and Health Technology Management professionals can keep medical equipment safe and reliable with the optimal use of their resources. Evidence-Based Maintenance is grounded on the analysis of Real-World Evidence to monitor the maintenance effectiveness and plan any necessary changes to improve it. The lack of global standards contributes to the scarcity of accessible and shareable data to extract evidence. The purpose of this study is to draw attention to and describe the issues which can emerge during Evidence-Based Maintenance when dealing with the lack of standardization for naming and coding medical devices, with an emphasis on the nomenclature of medical equipment and the standardization of fault codes.