The Roundup

Imagine you have to hear the same sound over and over again. You might start to ignore it, right? Or find a way to turn it off.That's the issue facing nurses and other healthcare personnel: alarm overload. This is much more than a matter of bothersome noise. When real medical alarms are ignored or turned off, it can literally be a matter of life or death for patients.In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received 566 reports of patient deaths related to alarms on monitoring devices from 2005 to 2008.A new standards committee from AAMI wants to help solve this problem and others concerning alarms management. And the spring issue of Horizons takes a comprehensive look at the issue as well, with insights from biomeds, clinicians, and manufacturers.The association is also co-convening a summit Oct. 4–5 on the topic with ECRI Institute and the American College of Clinical Engineering (ACCE). AAMI also will host sessions on the topic at the AAMI 2011 Annual Conference & Expo, which runs June 25–27 in San Antonio, TX.Want to be a part of the solution? The committee is looking for new members, particularly users, regulators, academics, and other non-industry interested parties. For more information, contact Jennifer Moyer at jmoyer@aami.org.They might think there is little they can do, but biomedical equipment technicians (BMET) and clinical engineers can help prevent alarm fatigue, according to George Mills, senior engineer for The Joint Commission's Standards Interpretation Group.“I am simply asking that as you do environmental rounds keep your eyes and ears open for alarm hazards, and make sure that they are functioning properly,” Mills said during an April AAMI webinar.Mills said he knew of one organization that has “evaluated what alarms are necessary and not necessary, and has reduced alarm fatigue by managing the alarms better.”It looks like spending and budget cuts aren't the only thing under the microscope in Congress these days.Committees in the Senate and the House of Representatives held hearings this spring scrutinizing U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) regulations for medical devices, asking whether the approval process is stringent enough to keep the public safe. On the other side of the coin, two senators who created a medical device caucus question if FDA's regulations are suffocating the device industry.At the Senate hearing, senators took turns slamming FDA's 510(k) process as not sufficient to keep unsafe devices off the market. The 510(k) program is a commonly used regulatory pathway for lower-risk devices in which manufacturers must prove their product is similar to a device already on the market.“The drive toward getting new technologies to market shouldn't be done at the risk of patient safety,” said U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI). “Faulty medical devices, especially those implanted in the body, can have a disastrous impact on the health of those who use them.”A main concern of the Senate Medical Technology Caucus, on the other hand, seems to be making sure FDA doesn't stifle device makers with what some describe as burdensome regulations. “It is critical that we provide a business environment for them to innovate, grow, and thrive,” said Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA).FDA officials say they're committed to a healthy regulatory system that promotes innovation—while keeping patients safe. The agency unveiled some changes earlier this year to its 510(k) program that it says will bring more clarity to the review process. More changes are on the way.At a meeting this spring in Washington, D.C., on medical device interoperability and health information technology (HIT), Julian Goldman, MD, described one particular challenge this way:“There is a national shortage of clinical engineers with appropriate training in medical device informatics and HIT system integration. This challenge is amplified since many hospital IT departments have an incomplete understanding of the demands of clinical engineering, and vice versa.”Goldman is the project leader and director of medical device interoperability for the Center for Integration of Medicine & Innovative Technology (CMIT) in Boston.The Clinical Operations Workgroup with the Health IT Standards Committee, a federal advisory committee, heard about other challenges, including cost considerations, a lack of common terminology, propriety and liability concerns, and an absence of market incentives.More than a year after the passage of the sweeping healthcare reform bill, healthcare facilities across the country are still debating its impact.A new report from The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that focuses on healthcare, describes how a hospital or healthcare facility can become what's called an “accountable care organization” (ACO)—essentially a new category of provider. The ACO program, which stems from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, rewards groups of providers who agree to collaborate. An ACO would be a network of doctors and hospitals that share responsibility for patient care, and it aims to solve the problem of a patient getting healthcare from different areas that don't communicate, says The Commonwealth Fund.Starting in 2012, hospitals that become ACOs can get bonuses from Medicare for keeping costs down and meeting patient care benchmarks.But hospitals and healthcare facilities often fear what they don't understand, and there is a lot to understand about the ACO rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).“In order to achieve the level of success we need, the rules and the implementation process need to enable both CMS and health care providers to operate differently than has been the case in the past,” said Stuart Guterman, the Commonwealth Fund's vice president for payment and system reform.The Commonwealth Fund shares some models for a successful ACO, and analyzes the regulations for the organizations. Information can be found at: www.commonwealthfund.org/.“Healthcare technology management.”That's the name a diverse group of 30 industry professionals recommended for the field responsible for managing the selection, maintenance, and use of medical equipment and systems.It was selected after two days of discussions as part of what was called the Future Forum held in late April at AAMI headquarters in Arlington, VA.There are a variety of names to describe the hospital department that takes care of medical equipment. Clinical engineering, biomedical engineering, biomed, and medical technology services are just a few of the names out there.The experts who gathered felt that picking one name could help to “unify” the field and shape its future in a positive way.“We felt that this name was accurate, easily understood by the public and other health-care workers, and allowed for expansion of the field in the future,” said Pat Lynch, a biomedical support specialist at Global Medical Imaging.Each year, AAMI hands out awards at its annual conference for best research papers, and the “Best Practice” by a clinical engineering department, as featured in Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology (BI&T). The winners get a plaque and financial award at the conference. AAMI's Technology Management Council picks the “Best Practice” winner, while the BI&T Editorial Board votes on the research paper winners. Getting the honors this year:A little publicity apparently goes a long way when it comes to job interviews. Shane Glazebrook found that out when he interviewed for an imaging position at Baylor Health Care System in Dallas, TX, and a manager recognized him as a scholarship recipient.Glazebrook and Maxine Zeller each received $2,500 last year from the Michael J. Miller Scholarship Program, which each year helps students seeking a career in medical technology management.The two say that the award gave them needed funding to pay for books, fees, and other costs that come with going to school. And Glazebrook, who graduated in April from Texas State Technical College in Waco, TX, with a degree in biomedical equipment technology, now has a job with Baylor Health Care.Zeller, who is recovering from a serious car accident, was also proud of her scholarship win. When she got her diploma in March, she wore a sash commemorating her win. “It made me so proud and happy to represent the AAMI scholarship,” says Zeller, who received a diploma in biomedical engineering from DeVry University in Phoenix, AZ.The scholarship program awards two $2,500 scholarships a year: one to a student pursuing a career in biomedical equipment technology, and another to a student pursuing a career in clinical engineering. For more information on the scholarship, including how to donate, visit www.aami.org/foundation/scholarship.The short answer: You. AAMI standards stem from a perceived need in the field for guidance. But before a committee starts work on a new standard or guidance document, AAMI's Standards Board must approve the proposal. Here's a look at work item proposals that will become future standards and guidance documents.There is no timeframe on when these documents will be completed.Here's a new prescription for the iPad and iPhone—apps with a healthcare twist.More and more apps are coming onto the market that could have a big impact on the delivery of healthcare.One recent example is a new secure mobile app that would enable physicians to view electrocardiogram (ECG) data on their mobile devices. The app was created as part of a partnership between GE Healthcare and AirStrip Technologies, a San Antonio company that makes mobile medical software applications.GE and Airstrip hope to give clinicians real-time access to this data, and view archived data as well.“When I am on call, I need instant access to clinical data to help make informed treatment decisions,” says Mark Peterman, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Plano, TX.Even just 10 years ago, biomeds and clinical engineers didn't need to worry too much about network security or risk management. But the times they are a-changin' and changin' fast. With that in mind, AAMI is working on the creation of a core curriculum for biomed education programs.“There is an increasing requirement for biomedical equipment technicians (BMET) to have a broader understanding of healthcare because of the expanding interrelationships between healthcare technology, information management, clinical care, and the impact of finance and budget,” says Robert H. Stiefel, president of RHS Biomedical Engineering Consulting LLC in Baltimore, MD.Stiefel will draft a detailed plan for the curriculum, which should be available within the next two years. The curriculum could be distributed to colleges and help prepare new BMETs for what they are going to face on the job.More than four in five office-based physicians are eligible to get funding for adopting electronic health records (EHR). But appearances can be deceiving.A study in the journal Health Affairs analyzed federal survey data, and finds that many physician offices are already eligible for new federal funding that encourages the adoption and “meaningful use” of EHRs.But the analysis also finds that eligibility varies by specialty.“90.6% of physicians working in general or family practice of internal medicine could qualify for incentives, but fewer than two-thirds of pediatricians, obstetriciangynecologists, and psychiatrists may qualify,” according to the study's abstract. “Eligibility and use will also vary by factors such as the size and type of practice; physicians in solo practice are much less likely to use EHRs than physicians in other practice settings.”The federal funding is also available for hospitals.With an eye on the healthcare industry, Canon U.S.A., Inc., has announced the establishment of Canon Information and Imaging Solutions, Inc., a new wholly owned subsidiary. In a press release, the company says it's looking for growth opportunities “in previously untapped markets for Canon, such as IT services and healthcare applications.” Canon has big plans for this new company, saying it expects to exceed $500 million in sales by 2014.The Clinical Engineering Association of Illinois (CEAI) will host its Second Annual Conference Aug. 24–25 in Oak Brook, IL. The theme? 2014 Is Now! Healthcare Reform—The Impact on the Medical Equipment Industry. Al Moretti, CEAI president, says the conference will be “a unique offering of education and professional networking opportunities.” For more information about the conference, go to www.CEIAweb.org.Sometimes an answer to a problem is right in front of you—even if it takes awhile to figure that out.When AAMI's Technology Management Council decided to create a brochure touting to C-Suite executives the value of clinical engineering departments, one of the biggest challenges was the question of art for the cover. AAMI's editors and graphic designer searched through libraries of stock photos and clip art, but nothing felt right.But there was a perfect photo, and it was right under AAMI's nose.The “Best Practices” feature in March/April issue of Biomedical Instrumentation & Research (BI&T) had featured a photo of the biomedical engineering team at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in Ottawa, Canada. The institute graciously agreed to let AAMI use the photo, and the rest just fell into place. Timothy Zakutney, manager of the team, says he was “honored” by the decision to use the photo. “I have always been a strong advocate for the profession and the value they bring to the executive offices of the organization.”With that, meet the brochure cover “models.”

Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.