Biomed Roundup

Abstract

It's all about change and accountability.That's the message being delivered to medical technology professionals as healthcare reform moves forward, technology evolves ever faster, and hospitals look for ways to cut costs and improve quality.“You have an opportunity to frame and manage your future—and if you don't, that opportunity may become a threat because you could be left in the dust if you don't position yourself to be ready for new and expanded roles,” AAMI President Mary Logan told the crowd at the Clinical Engineering Association of Illinois' meeting in August.In three to five years—or even less in some cases—hospitals will become one big connected system of clinical equipment, Logan said. “If you are fortunate, you will be the person responsible for a small device that is not much more than a computer and printer that prints out the color coded labels for all patient syringes (no more hand labels). Would you know what to do if you were responsible for maintaining a pocket-sized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine? Are you ready? Is your hospital ready?”One idea that's generating some buzz these days: accountable care organizations (ACO). The basic concept is a new emphasis on hospitals and doctors working together to improve the delivery of healthcare and reduce costs.Under a program set to become operational by 2012 and run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a hospital can volunteer to become an ACO.An ACO, according to CMS, agrees to be “accountable for the quality, cost, and overall care of Medicare beneficiaries.” Each year an ACO stays in the program, it receives a share of any savings in Medicare reimbursements.Clinical engineers and biomeds, says Carol Davis-Smith, a director at Premier Inc. in Phoenix and chair of AAMI's Technology Management Council (TMC), need to help their facilities become ACOs.They should focus on how technology is used “in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, communicating in the right way, and using the technology in the most appropriate manner,” Davis-Smith said in an August speech before the California Medical Instrumentation Association.In her keynote address, Logan hit on the same point: “How clinical technology is used to make a decision at bedside is your talent.”It's not technology itself that's changing, but also where and how it's being used. More healthcare is moving outside of hospitals and into patient homes and outpatient centers. “This requires a whole new type of planning and deployment and maintenance function,” Logan said.Biomeds and clinical engineers, she said, need to understand they are part of a systems approach to clinical equipment, and develop new skills, including:Greater collaboration with other departments, such as information technology (IT) and nursing, will be key. Connecting with the C-Suite, Logan advised, is critical, so biomeds and clinical engineers can advance the interests of their departments, and play a role in hospital-wide policies and decisions.“Your world is changing rapidly. Healthcare is in transition,” Logan said. “It's up to you to be resilient and adapt to the changes around you. This is the corner of the universe you can be certain of improving.”