A Study On Survey And Strategies Of Patent Management In Large General Hospitals

For a hospital, the quantity and quality of patents is an important indicator of its comprehensive competitive edge, so enhancing patent management can contribute to the chronic development of the hospital. In this study, a survey was conducted on the current status and needs of patent management, and solutions to key related issues were also discussed.In this study, based on an analysis and comparative study on the patent data of a large hospital from 1999 to 2009, it was found that compared to the overall patents applied for in China in the same period, patent application by hospitals had a significantly higher (P<0.01) proportion of patent and service inventions and a higher rate of patenting. Transfer of proprietary technology was difficult. Besides, there was no significant difference in patenting, termination and maintenance between applications by units and those by individuals.On the basis of literature research and expert interviews, a "patent management questionnaire, " was worked out with reference to the actual practice in hospitals. A survey among 150 people suggested that most people had a scanty knowledge of patent in terms of what can be patented, how to define service inventions and how to protect the rights of inventors. A study on 35 patented inventions revealed that the shortage of funding or time was an important factor affecting patent maintenance, termination, transfer.This study made a systematic evaluation of patent management in hospitals and consequently spotted the problems with and needs of this work. As a result, a series of measures was proposed to enhance the patent management for hospitals. The result of this research can not only sharpen out awareness of hospitals'patent management, but also help improve patent management of hospitals.