Matt and I visited two of the biggest hospitals in Addis, Black Lion and St Paul.  While visiting, we learned some crucial information.  First, we learned that both hospitals already had some inventory system in place.

Second, we learned that there is a government initiative to implement a computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) in important hospitals.  After researching CMMS and talking to the people at AIHA, Matt and I decided that we should make a CMMS for Jimma Referral Hospital.

At a certain point, a simple inventory list becomes too bulky and too long to be useful.  A database system will make the information within the inventory more manageable and user friendly.  The database will make it easier to filter, search, and find the information needed by the biomedical technician.  A CMMS is a specialized database.  It not only keeps track of the equipment, it also keeps track of their maintenance history and notifies the user when preventative maintenance needs to be done. Matt and I are creating the CMMS in Microsoft Access.  We also are using the World Health Organization’s “Introduction to medical equipment inventory management” and the other WHO medical device technical series documents to guide our CMMS development.  We plan to have a working system done by the end of this program.  We really think that this system will be more useful and helpful to the biotechs than just an inventory.  We will be incorporating their feedback throughout the design process.  So hopefully we will make something that is useful and something that they will continue after we leave.