Implementation of a Digital Asset Tracking System for Equipment Management at a Teaching Hospital in Gombe State

Teaching hospitals in Gombe State struggle to maintain accurate records of medical equipment location, maintenance status, and operational condition, resulting in inefficient asset utilisation and avoidable equipment failures. This study presents the implementation of a QR code-based digital asset tracking system for a teaching hospital in Gombe State, North East Nigeria. The system was developed using Django and MySQL, with a mobile scanning interface for Android devices. Medical equipment items are tagged with unique QR codes; scanning a code retrieves the asset profile and enables recording of location checks, maintenance events, and fault reports. An administrative dashboard displays asset location summaries, maintenance schedules, and overdue maintenance alerts. Requirements were gathered through structured interviews with the hospital's biomedical engineering unit and five departmental heads. Functional testing of 80 test cases achieved a 99 percent pass rate. A four-month pilot tracked 340 equipment items across seven wards and three clinical departments. Six equipment items previously recorded as missing were located through routine QR code location sweeps. Scheduled preventive maintenance compliance improved from 47 percent to 81 percent during the pilot period. Staff rated system usability 4.0 out of 5.0. The study concludes that QR code-based tracking systems offer a low-cost, effective asset management solution for under-resourced teaching hospitals in North East Nigeria and recommends full hospital-wide deployment.

Keywords: asset tracking, QR code, teaching hospital, Gombe State, equipment management