By Binseng Wang

Published on May 18, 2015

I have been watching the discussion about the appropriate name for our profession for some time, hoping it would end quickly. The December 2014 Soapbox article by David Harrington1 proved me wrong, once again. William Shakespeare would probably have called all these discussions “Much Ado About Nothing.” As he wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Don’t get me wrong—I do appreciate the fact that names and professional titles help people understand each other, especially nowadays when everyone is so rushed that few bother to listen or study carefully, and the media is focused on sound bites and not substance. Continue reading..

By Nader Hammoud

Published on May 11, 2015

During the last 3 years since moving to the United States, I have seen different organizations with different management styles. During the 12 years before that, I also observed several organizations internationally, especially in the Middle East and North Africa region. 

In third-world countries, the biomed is seen as the gatekeeper for patient safety in a hospital. The biomedical department does not report to facilities or IT; the biomedical department is a separate entity raised to the same level, if not even higher sometimes. Whether a health care organization is remodeling an old OR or starting up a new hospital, the biomed gives the last signature on the “safe to use” documents, just before the CEO’s stamp. This is simply because biomeds understand the importance of what facilities and IT do, and they are the only people in-house qualified to verify that everything is safe for patients.  Continue reading

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Healthcare providers will continue to face difficult choices among an increasingly complex array of clinical-care technologies in the near and longer term. The challenge for administrative and clinical executives is to hone their skills at pattern recognition to discern which technologies are ripe for adoption now and which types need to be planned for in the foreseeable future. Continue reading

The Biomedical Technician (BMET) field will grow by roughly 30% by 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; a fact that’s openly promoted to young engineers in videos (like this one) from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). And rightly so, the healthcare industry is seeing rapid growth in new technology and—with a growth in the aging U.S. population—more demand for engineers to manage that technology. Continue reading

Evaluating Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) can be a challenging process, especially when you're looking for healthcare specialization and more than basic break-fix capabilities. In TechNation magazine's article titled "Roundtable: CMMS Software", industry leaders recommend some key questions to ask when you start evaluating CMMS software.

Here are some of our favorites:

1. Where is your department going to be in 10 years?

2. How can CMMS impact larger hospital challenges?

3. How comprehensive are the CMMS’ reporting and dashboards?

4. Is the system truly an enterprise solution?

Continue reading

 By Dr. John Sandham

Published April 2015

Medical Technology is changing rapidly, with continuous growth in the number of suppliers, and an increasing variation in makes and models of equipment - creating risks and opportunities for both Public and Private sector organisations.

The UK Public Accounts Committee and the National Audit Office both raised concerns regarding the NHS's fragmented approach to buying/procuring high value capital equipment. With the NHS spending approximately 500m per year on capital equipment, the potential for savings was considerable.

Issues raised from a number of sources show that uncontrolled healthcare technology management leads to poor purchasing decisions, and ultimately creates both financial and patient safety issues.

There are serious consequences when healthcare technology is not effectively managed thereby putting patients lives at risk. A report published by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers stated that 'in 2013 over 13,000 incidents were reported to the UK regulator relating to faulty medical equipment, which led to over 300 deaths and almost 5,000 serious injuries'. Continue reading 

I am HTM

Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) professionals are vital members of any world-class healthcare delivery team. Clinical engineers, biomedical equipment technicians, and other highly skilled professionals use their expertise to ensure the safety, efficacy, and availability of life-saving healthcare technologies, while keeping healthcare costs down.

Working with clinicians and other healthcare professionals to ensure the highest standards and best practices in medical device safety, security, interoperability and functionality, HTM professionals are responsible for providing a wide array of service offerings.

The Impact of HTM

Whether advising on the purchase, management, or repair of medical devices and technologies, or providing clinical staff with on-call technical assistance, HTM professionals impact the entire health system. Continue reading

New research adds to evidence of AvaSys’ significant clinical efficacy

April 13, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hospitals that deploy remote video monitoring systems staffed with dedicated, trained observers can reduce patient falls significantly, new clinical research has found. The research, funded by the Saint Mary’s Foundation, will be published in the peer-reviewed Nursing Economic$ – The Journal for Health Care Leaders.

“There was a significant return on investment, both at the organizational level (including units with and without AvaSys) and in the units where we implemented video monitoring”

The study compared the use of the AvaSys® TeleSitter® Solution along with standard fall precautions in three units of a large urban hospital for nine months against the use of the standard fall-prevention protocol. During the study phase, remote video monitoring with a dedicated observer was used for 12 patients at a time. The study demonstrated that remote video monitoring is a safe alternative to individual patient companions and that it significantly reduced patient falls. A total of 828 patients were monitored and falls decreased by 35%.

“The research shows that patients are safer when they are monitored by a trained, dedicated observer 24 hours a day,” said lead study author Lisbeth Votruba, MSN, RN, PCCN, Vice President of Clinical Quality and Innovation at AvaSure, the company that invented and distributes the AvaSys system. Continue reading