A good preventive maintenance schedule starts with the manufacturer's recommendations and changes them only for a documented reason. Everything else is record-keeping: knowing what you own, when each device is due, and being able to prove the work was done.

Start with a complete inventory

You can't schedule what you haven't listed. For each device, record the make, model, serial number, location, owner department, in-service date, service provider and next due date. Include loaners and rentals that stay on site. Give every device a unique asset tag so the record and the equipment can't drift apart.

Set the interval

The default is the manufacturer's recommended activities and frequency, usually found in the service manual. Keep those documents with the asset record, because a surveyor or a new technician will need them.

Hospitals have some flexibility here. In its S&C 14-07 memo, Hospital Equipment Maintenance Requirements, CMS says a hospital may adjust maintenance frequency and activities from the manufacturer's recommendations based on a risk-based assessment by qualified personnel. This is known as an alternate equipment maintenance (AEM) program.

That flexibility has limits. The hospital must have policies and procedures, document the program, and follow what it sets strictly. It also doesn't apply everywhere. The memo excludes cases where other law or Conditions of Participation require following manufacturer recommendations, with imaging and radiologic equipment given as the example. Medical laser devices and new equipment without enough maintenance history are excluded too. Outpatient clinics and labs should check with their own accreditor or regulator, because the memo was written for hospitals.

For the risk assessment itself, ANSI/AAMI EQ89 is a useful guidance document on maintenance strategies. It describes options rather than mandating any one of them, and it doesn't replace device-specific instructions.

Define what a PM visit includes

"PM complete" means little unless the procedure is written down. For most devices, a visit covers:

  • Visual inspection of the housing, cords, connectors and accessories
  • Cleaning and any replacement of scheduled wear items
  • Battery condition, for anything that runs on backup power
  • Functional checks, including alarms
  • Calibration or performance verification against traceable test equipment
  • Electrical safety testing where applicable

IEC 62353 covers recurrent testing of medical electrical equipment and testing after repair. It's worth knowing that the standard doesn't set the interval and doesn't define how repairs should be done. Manufacturer instructions still come first.

Write it down every time

Each work order should show the asset, date, technician, procedure, test equipment used with its calibration status, readings, parts replaced and the result. If a device can't be found or can't be tested, record that as well. A due date that quietly slips is exactly the gap a survey finds. Decide in advance how long a device can run overdue, and who has the authority to pull it from service.

Use the data to improve the schedule

Review failures by model at least once a year. Repeated failures found between PMs suggest that the procedure isn't catching the problem. Clean PMs on a low-risk device may support a documented change, where one is allowed. Keep evidence for any change you make.

If you don't have an in-house biomed team

Smaller practices can get the same discipline from a service contract: a shared calendar, a named contact, and reports kept in one place. Ask any provider for sample reports before you sign, along with how they handle missed visits and overdue units.

We offer scheduled preventive maintenance, calibration and corrective service. See our repair and biomed service options, or request service for a specific device.