Management of medical technology - implementation issues.

Medical technology in Australian public hospitals has a replacement cost of approximately A$3 billion. The management of this invaluable asset suggests the need for a planning framework to facilitate equipment replacement and acquisition decisions, an accurate inventory of technology assets, and an implementation process to enable prioritisation and the allocation of funds. The authors report on work associated with the initial phases of planning process development and identify issues that need to be resolved in relation to the implementation phase.