The Role of Clinical Engineers in Reducing Medical Errors

Abstract

In Brief Utilizing their knowledge of human factors, regulatory processes and principles of design and safety engineering, clinical engineers can have a major impact on reducing injuries, deaths, and clinical complications resulting from medical errors. These processes, which are part of the biomedical/clinical engineering curriculum, are inherent in minimizing healthcare hazards as well as reducing the risk of bad clinical outcomes resulting from the technology assessment process in selection of new medical devices. Medical equipment standardization and initial user training are essential concepts that must be employed to create a lower risk environment. Removing equipment that does not conform to the standardization process will provide a uniform process of clinical standards for patient treatment and thus increase the familiarity of medical equipment use. This familiarity will lower the risk of clinical errors related to technology frustration and inadvertent user error. Clinical engineers should be at the core of the technology assessment process and make their expertise known to hospital administrators. When hospital administrators realize that input from clinical engineers contribute to a safe environment within the hospital and thus affect the bottom line, their expertise will be a sought after value added commodity. Utilizing their knowledge of human factors, regulatory processes and principles of design and safety engineering, clinical engineers can have a major impact on reducing injuries, deaths, and clinical complications resulting from medical errors. These processes, which are part of the biomedical/clinical engineering curriculum, are inherent in minimizing healthcare hazards as well as reducing the risk of bad clinical outcomes resulting from the technology assessment process in selection of new medical devices. When hospital administrators realize that input from clinical engineers contribute to a safe environment within the hospital and thus affect the bottom line, their expertise will be a sought-after value-added commodity.