TechNation Magazine - January 2019

1technation.com

Vol. 10

JANUARY 2019

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL / HTM PROFESSIONAL

networking

2

GETTING PLUGGED IN

14 Company Showcase Diversified

20 Association of the Month

Indiana Biomedical Society

44 Roundtable

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CONTENTS

FEATURED

WHO WILL MAINTAIN THEM?

44

PATIENT MONITORS

This month we explore patient monitors, including what to look for when buying patient monitors in regards to basic functions, the latest features, cybersecurity and more.

Next month’s Roundtable article: Ultrasound Probes

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NETWORKING2: GETTING CONNECTED

Being connected can mean many things to many people.

The expression has a special significance to those in the HTM field, who aremore more involved than ever in connected networks and data. They are also involved in creating a network of colleagues through social media and/or conferences. Being connected requires a special skill-set in either case and we share some insights on how to do both.

Next month’s Feature article: Beyond CE Credits: The Path from BMET I to BMET III and Beyond

TechNation (Vol. 10, Issue #1) January 2019 is published monthly by MD Publishing, 18 Eastbrook Bend, Peachtree City, GA 30269-1530. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to TechNation at 18 Eastbrook Bend, Peachtree City, GA 30269-1530.

TechNation magazine is dedicated to providing medical equipment service professionals with comprehensive, reliable, information concerning medical equipment, parts, service and supplies. It is published monthly by MD Publishing, Inc. Subscriptions are available free of charge to qualified individuals within the United States. Publisher reserves the right to determine qualification for a free subscriptions. Every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy of content; however, the information, opinions, and statements expressed in the articles and advertisements herein are those of the writer and/or advertiser, and not necessarily those of the publisher.

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

JANUARY 2019

TECHNATION

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CONTENTS

INSIDE

PUBLISHER

John M. Krieg

VICE PRESIDENT

Kristin Leavoy

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Jayme McKelvey Megan Cabot

ART DEPARTMENT

Jonathan Riley Karlee Gower Kathryn Keur

EDITOR

John Wallace

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Jenifer Brown K. Richard Douglas Jim Fedele Inhel Rekik Manny Roman Cindy Stephens Steven J. Yelton

DIGITAL SERVICES

Cindy Galindo Kennedy Krieg Travis Saylor

CIRCULATION

Lisa Cover Melissa Brand

WEBINARS

Linda Hasluem

EDITORIAL BOARD

Manny Roman, Business Operation Manager, AMSP Salim Kai, MSPSL, CBET, Clinical Safety Engineer University of Michigan Health System Jim Fedele, Sr. Program Director, Clinical Engineering, BioTronics, UPMC Susquehanna Izabella Gieras, MS, MBA, CCE, Director of Clinical Technology, Huntington Memorial Hospital Inhel Rekik, Clinical Engineering Manager, Medstar Georgetown University Hospital

Departments P.12 SPOTLIGHT p.12 Professional of the Month: Jason Hoeing, CBET, Enjoying the Challenges p.14 Company Showcase: Diversified p.16 Eddie Acosta 1964-2018 p.18 Department of the Month: The PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center Clinical Engineering Department p.20 Association of the Month: Indiana Biomedical Society P.23 INDUSTRY UPDATES p.23 News & Notes p.28 Ribbon Cutting: Doctors Equipment Repair p.31 AAMI Update p.32 Welcome to TechNation p.34 ECRI Update P.36 p.36 p.38 p.41 p.42

THE BENCH Shop Talk Biomed 101 Tools of the Trade Webinar Wednesday

P.55 p.55 p.56 p.58 p.60 p.63 p.65

EXPERT ADVICE Career Center 20/20 Imaging Insights The Future HTM Reporting and Analytics The Other Side Roman Review

P.66 BREAKROOM p.66 Did You Know? p.67 The Vault p.68 MedWrench Bulletin Board p.72 Service Index p.77 Alphabetical Index p.78 Parting Shot

MD Publishing / TechNation Magazine 18 Eastbrook Bend, Peachtree City, GA 30269 800.906.3373 • Fax: 770.632.9090 Email: info@mdpublishing.com www.mdpublishing.com

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TECHNATION

JANUARY 2019

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SPOTLIGHT

PROFESSIONAL OF THE MONTH Jason Hoeing, CBET Enjoying the Challenges

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

S

helbyville, Indiana is the county seat of Shelby County, which was named after the first governor of Kentucky. The city is located approximately 22 miles southeast of Indianapolis. Serving the health care needs of the people of Shelbyville, and much of southeastern Indiana, is Major Health Partners (MHP) and the MHP Major Hospital in Shelbyville.

Hired to service the heating and cooling needs of the hospital, Jason Hoeing, CBET, learned that servicing medical equipment might have been his calling instead.

“I started working for Major Hospital in 2007. I was hired as an HVAC service tech to help maintain the facilities. This was my first experience in the health care field,” Hoeing says.

“At the time, our facilities and biomed engineering staff worked out of the same shop,” he adds. “Not long after becoming acquainted with my surroundings at Major Hospital, my love for technology and the desire to make a difference kept me asking the biomed ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ At first, I was given small tasks like helping to locate equipment that was due for service as a trial to see if I liked this sort of work. Just a small taste of being a biomed engineer kept me coming back for more and that’s when I knew I wanted to make a career of it,” Hoeing adds.

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Hoeing says that as luck would have it, the hospital system was growing at the time that he realized his aspirations and they allowed him to transition to become a biomed engineer.

“I attended IUPUI, IndianaUniversity-Purdue University Indianapolis, in their biomedical engineering technology program. I went to school part-time while beginning my career as a biomed engineer, which I feel gave me a huge advantage as I was able to see the equipment and processes discussed in class first hand at work.

After graduating from IUPUI, I completed my CBET certification from AAMI and I am grateful to be part of the HTM community,” Hoeing says.

Hoeing has now been a biomedical equipment technician for five years.

NEW EQUIPMENT AND CMMS CHALLENGES Nothing challenges a biomed quite like learning about all new equipment from a different manufacturer. Throw in the rebuilding of a CMMS database, and things really become interesting.

“In January of 2017, Major Hospital completed the construction of our new facility and successfully moved from our old building to the new one. That being said, there has been no shortage of challenges or special projects. The biggest challenges so far have been learning and becoming an expert on many new types of patient care equipment that were purchased for our

new facility,” Hoeing says.

“We completely switched brands of all our patient monitoring equipment – bedside and telemetry – to one that our two-person biomed team was unfamiliar with. Our OR’s were completely redesigned with new lights, booms and communication equipment.

It was all a little overwhelming in the first few months of operation, but our small and mighty team faced each new challenge as an opportunity to grow and succeed,” Hoeing adds.

Hoeing says that the most interesting project he has been involved in so far (which is still evolving) is rebuilding the CMMS database.

“Taking an old system, and loads of data, and turning it into a new ‘user friendly’ system that works for the entire team has been a very fun and rewarding experience,” he says.

“At our old facility, the CMMS database was just OK; it served its purpose, but it had been subject to many years of ownership changes and messy upgrades. It was a system that no one liked to use. Since we knew the new facility and new equipment would bring so many new changes to the database, we made the decision to start with a clean slate,” Hoeing says.

He says that they can now use the CMMS as a work order system for biomed and facilities engineering so that anyone in the health care network can submit work orders.

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SPOTLIGHT

FAVORITE BOOK I love reading to my kids and acting silly like the characters. So any children’s book that I’m reading to them.

FAVORITE MOVIE “Tombstone” I’m a sucker for old Westerns

Jason Hoeing, CBET

“We also now have a system that we record and then report all our work that helps us stay on task, organized and compliant,” he says.

Asked about an area of specialty, Hoeing makes it clear that he is among the new generation of biomeds who are hybrid IT as well.

“Anything IT, I love computers, networks and interfacing equipment. If I had a second pick for a career field, it would be IT,” he says.

On the home front, Hoeing gets great enjoyment from spending time with his family.

“I have been married to my best

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

friend for three years now and together we have three wonderful kids, two dogs, four cats and a fish named Bob,” he says.

The switch from HVAC to biomed turned out to be the perfect career move.

“I can honestly say that I love what I do. My job provides me with new and interesting challenges every day and, to me, that’s what makes it great,” Hoeing says.

MHP Major Hospital may have a small biomed shop, but with enthusiasm and resourceful thinking, that doesn’t matter. Jason Hoeing welcomes any challenge.

FAVORITE FOOD “Generally, I’ll eat anything that doesn’t eat me first but if I have to pick a favorite, it would have to be a sirloin from Hard Eight BBQ in Dallas, Texas” FAVORITE PART OF BEING A BIOMED “Solving problems. At the end of the day, the most rewarding feeling is knowing that I have done my part to help keep our patients safe.”

WHAT’S ON MY BENCH? • Coffee • Pictures of my kids • iPad • Last, but not least, my Leatherman multitool.

JANUARY 2019

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SPOTLIGHT

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

TM

company showcase D

iversified is a truly unique medical device and technology solutions provider. Its core competency in technology integration and knowledge of the medical facility space is unprecedented when compared to traditional medical technology companies. Its expansive capabilities provide its hospital partners with the ability to partner with one company to drive standardization initiatives across the enterprise, create new and innovative immersive and experiential areas for patients and family while ensuring their investments are fully leveraged and utilized.

The Diversified Medical Innovation Group was founded in September of 2016. The first year focused on infrastructure investments to build a team of medical device subject matter experts with extensive experience in product

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development, medical device sales and service, regulatory, OR and interventional procedure suite integration. Year one also included the launch of its quality management system framework.

“This past year has been pivotal for our Medical Innovation Group as our quality management system was approved for certification to the stringent ISO 13485:2016 standards, we completed the initial design and release of our flagship product, CORIS® IPS2™, registered with the FDA and listed our first product,” said Steve Plaugher, Senior Vice President Medical Innovation Group. “We were also successful in partnering with several hospitals where our vendor-neutral, vintage-agnostic OR integration technology and in-house first responder service model is already demonstrating cost-savings benefits to our hospital partners.”

The results are a reflection of attention

to detail and the knowledge and desire to build a strong foundation to build upon as the company grows.

“Our success is the direct result of Diversified’s commitment to investing in a team of OR and interventional procedure suite integration subject matter experts and our team’s daily focus on ensuring true vendor-neutral, vintage-agnostic integration,” Plaugher shared.

Recognizing the broad array of technology solutions Diversified provides health care facilities, its executive leadership team created a division focused exclusively on the medical market.

“With a 25-year history of providing cutting-edge solutions and exceptional service, Diversified has emerged as a leading global technology solutions partner,” said Plaugher. “Our reputation and strategic growth has enabled us to align with some of the most innovative companies in the medical marketplace and, through

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SPOTLIGHT

acquisition, enrich our offerings, capabilities and expertise to our clients and, ultimately, to the patients in their care.”

The Diversified Medical Innovation Group has a laser focus when it comes to the latest advances in technology and how to equip customers with solutions.

“Every day, our company is focused on one thing – being the best at technology integration,” Plaugher said. “Our Medical Innovation Group team leverages the company’s expansive capabilities and couple it with our medical team’s expert knowledge of the medical device and procedure suite integration market.”

“Our team understands hospitals have made significant investments in a wide array of medical devices used in operating rooms and interventional procedure suites, all made by many different medical device companies,” he added. “We also understand no one medical company makes the best product for every procedure or application and hospitals must have the flexibility to continue to invest in medical device technologies from many different manufacturers, without sacrificing the ability to integrate them into their ecosystem.”

Integration is not new, but is becoming more important on an almost daily basis throughout health care.

Solutions that generate increased patient satisfaction, improved patient care and additional cost savings stand out.

“Many articles have been written regarding the benefit and value of the integrated operating room. These articles highlight the care provider team’s

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

“Our success is the direct result of Diversified’s commitment to investing in a team of OR and interventional procedure suite integration subject matter experts and our team’s daily focus on ensuring true vendor-neutral, vintage-agnostic integration.”

STEVE PLAUGHER, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT MEDICAL INNOVATION GROUP

increased efficiencies, improved communications and patient care coordination and augmentation of the surgeon’s skills,” Plaugher said. “These fundamental premises, coupled with the fact we, as medical solutions providers, must be an integral and active participant in helping to reduce our hospital partner’s costs, are the foundation for our entire approach to integrating high value procedure suites such as operating rooms and interventional procedure suites.”

The Medical Innovation Group delivers solutions that help hospital partners reduce capital equipment costs, improve care provider team efficiency and increase focus on patient care.

“At the core of our disruptive approach is our CORIS® IPS2™ vendor-neutral, vintage-agnostic Video over IP based integration platform,” Plaugher said.

“This platform ensures our partner’s existing capital assets can be integrated into the procedure suite while providing a venue for investing in new, best-of-breed technology such as 4K video, regardless of manufacturer. This approach provides unparalleled flexibility and connectivity to their medical devices and systems.”

When CORIS® family products are

combined, the IP-based architecture provides the ability to scale and distribute content to all care team providers, regardless of physical location.

“Our service model is equally disruptive as our CORIS® product family utilizes an IP-based architecture affording Diversified the ability to offer a lower cost, IT-based service support model,” Plaugher said. “Our goal is to train in-house HTM professionals to be highly effective first responders supported by a 24/7/365 service support system. This model is identical to the approach most hospital IS departments have undertaken as it is a significantly lower cost service model when compared to traditional break/fix models supported by field engineers.”

“Our mission is to leverage our medical team’s expert knowledge of the market with Diversified’s access to best-of-breed technology and core competencies in technology integration, to create and deliver solutions that provide health care professionals and institutions with clinical integration solutions and workflow optimization tools that complement their existing assets and infrastructure, while providing interoperability with new and emerging technologies,” Plaugher added.

JANUARY 2019

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SPOTLIGHT

HTM LOSES ONE OF A KIND Eddie Acosta | 1964-2018

BY JOHN WALLACE

E

ddie Acosta was many things to many people. He had several roles, duties and responsibilities.

He was a family man. Eddie was a loving husband and a caring father. When he spoke about his family his eyes sparkled and that included his entire family from his wife and children to his nieces and nephews continuing to his cousins and the rest of his extended family.

Marisa Dominguez, one of Eddie’s daughters, took some time to share the family’s thoughts by authoring the following paragraphs about her dad for TechNation magazine.

“Eddie and his wife Michelle met by chance on a Wednesday evening in 1983 at the NCO Club on Travis Air Force Base.

For Eddie, this was his usual Wednesday night hang out spot where he could listen and dance to rock n’ roll music with his buddies,” she writes. “For Michelle, she wound up with no other plans and she decided to drop in to the NCO with her girlfriends. Serendipitously, the beginnings of a 35-year marriage blossomed. Michelle recalls her first impressions of Eddie was nothing short of the ‘life of the party.’

Michelle remembers his bright, positive personality seared across the dance floor.”

“Eddie was truly a one of a kind man, who was unwaveringly devoted to his wife, three children and 2 grandchildren,” Marisa adds. “Eddie consistently demonstrated a high level of integrity, both personally and professionally. He was a selfless, kind, charismatic man who made friends anywhere and everywhere he went. Eddie had an effortless way to connect to people and make them feel comfortable and cared for. His larger than life personality and infectious smile and laugh lit up any room he walked into.”

“Michelle is most fond and proud of the family memories and traditions they created over the 36 years together as a couple, which 16

TECHNATION

JANUARY 2019

Eddie Acosta, 1964-2018

now continues with their two granddaughters. Eddie’s hope was for the Acosta traditions to transcend for generations and generations,” she shares.

“The Acosta family intends to honor and uphold Eddie’s philosophies of family values.

Eddie will be deeply missed by all his family and friends.”

“Eddie loved his family first and foremost. He was a dedicated father to all of his children (Mario, Marisa and Marina) and was a devoted husband to his wife, Michelle. Everything he did was for them and their future,” Colin Construction Company COO Kevin Cook says. “I encourage you to go to his FB Page to see the many posts from family, friends, and military brothers/sisters. He was loved, respected and will be missed.”

His colleagues and peers were also a part of Eddie’s family. His fellow members of the U.S. Armed Forces were also considered family. He was always quick to provide advice, lend a helping hand or deliver a word of encouragement at just the right time. Eddie shared countless stories with biomeds and while many were humorous, each one delivered a message of sage advice.

“Eddie is loyal. He treated every friend like they were his BFF,” Cook says.

MD Publishing President and Founder John Krieg recalls Eddie’s outgoing nature

and the unwavering support he gave to those around him.

“They broke the mold with Eddie. What can you say about a man who would do literally anything for a friend or colleague, and always with a smile and spirit that would warm any room,” Krieg says. “We were fortunate enough to be friends, personally and professionally, he sat on our TechNation Editorial Board, spoke at our MD Expo conferences, collaborated on future articles and presentations.”

“One of my fondest memories was when we hosted the MD Expo in Napa in 2011, Eddie was instrumental in assisting with almost every aspect of the show, it was a phenomenal success,” Krieg adds. “He also shared some of this ‘homemade’ merlot, combined with laughter and good times, it’s a special memory I will always cherish.”

Command Chief Master Sergeant Charles “Chuck” Frizzell is the senior enlisted leader at the 59th Medical Wing, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. It is the largest medical unit in the Air Force. In fact, it is responsible for Air Force Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) training (among other career fields), along with its U.S. Army and U.S. Navy counterparts, at the Medical Education and Training Campus located on Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Frizzell recalls the first time he met Eddie and the impact he has had on his life and those of so many others.

“Eddie and I attended Air Force Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) training together at Sheppard Air Force Base Texas starting in March 1992. We were part of a 12-member class; he was the ranking member and served as the class leader,” Frizzell says. “Eddie was positive, energetic and had a huge heart. He had both a smile and personality that would light up a room and an innate ability to make everyone feel special and important. He truly cared about those around him, both personally and professionally.”

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SPOTLIGHT

Left: Eddie Acosta (center) was a dedicated family man. Right: Eddie Acosta (center) always gave back to the biomed community. He was instrumental in assisting with almost every aspect of the MD Expo held in Napa in 2011.

Chief Master Sergeant Curtis Miller, Air Mobility Command Biomedical Functional Manager, recalls meeting Eddie when he was working as a civilian at Travis Air Force Base.

“He was as smart of a maintenance technician that you could find,” Miller recalls. “He was probably one of the smartest technicians I ever learned from.”

Cook first met Eddie in the Air Force and worked with him later in civilian life.

“Always happy, positive, and smiling,” is how Cook remembers Eddie. “Life of the party. If Eddie was there it was going to be a good time with plenty of laughs. Joke teller … he always had a good joke and when he would start out you would say. ‘Is this a joke’ and he would say, ‘true story … this happened to me.’ Of course, most of his jokes would leave us all laughing. Many people get set in a routine, but Eddie was always looking for a new adventure whether is was work or personal. He was not afraid to try a new path if he thought it was better.

Eddie was literally liked by everyone.”

Eddie was bright as shown by the amount of knowledge he had to share, but what made him stand out was his ability to share that knowledge and empower those around him.

“His charisma, leadership, mentorship was amazing. People gravitated to him. He was an amazing person,” Miller adds. “He was absolutely a mentor. He taught me more about medical maintenance and he had a huge impact on my life. He was a testimony about how people who do not know how big of an impact they have had.”

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

“Eddie was an incredible influencer. He set the example by first mastering his craft, then challenging himself to push both the biomed community’s and his own boundaries,” Frizzell says. “He also challenged others, both civilian and military alike, to do the same. In addition, he built a strong connection between the military BMET and civilian biomed communities that continues to blossom. He was a forward thinker who understood the value of continuing education and growth, as both an individual and professional in the biomed community.

Eddie’s impact was not only seen in the men and women he interacted with, Miller explains, because his stories were so good that they would be shared over and over and over again.

“Stories he told me I shared with thousands. I just interrupted my shop last week to tell one of the stories he told me.

They were something that you could hold onto and remember and they had lessons in them. They were humorous because Eddie was a funny guy, but they were lessons,” Miller says.

It is difficult to describe Eddie because there was so much good in him.

“Eddie was a role model and mentor for many. He knew how to keep things light and when it was time to focus on the task at hand,” Cook shares. “He was involved in professional organizations like California Medical Instrumentation Association (CMIA) and was elected as a board member for a period of time.

Through this organization, he expanded

his network and convinced many peers and mentees to join for their professional development. He also was a Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET) and again encouraged others to do the same to expand their knowledge and career potential. He received his master’s in business administration … he never stopped with his professional development. When he came to Colin CC to work with me on business development and marketing he had a vision for helping our company grow and remain on the cutting edge. He instilled positivity and inspiration.”

“I would describe him as an extremely talented technician, as a loving husband, loving father with an extreme amount of charisma who cared about every airman he came into contact with,” Miller shares. “As a young airman, what Eddie really showcased to me is that we aren’t just one thing. You are a father, a husband, a mentor. He was somebody who gave back to the community and always a life student.”

“He was a devoted family man with a zest for life. He lived every day to the fullest and, along the way, inspired countless others to live their best day every day. He was a hero to many, me included. He leaves a huge legacy in those who knew him, and will be truly missed,” Frizzell adds.

“Beyond anything, nothing else mattered unless you were a good person and if I had to describe Eddie in one way it is that he was a really good person,” Miller adds. “He was amazing.”

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SPOTLIGHT

DEPARTMENT OF THE MONTH The PeaceHealth St. John Medical

Center Clinical Engineering Department

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

I

n the northwest, and the far-far northwest, many patients find their health care solutions in the form of an organization with a calming name; PeaceHealth. PeaceHealth is a not-forprofit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. It is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.

With 10 medical centers and more than 1,200 physicians and providers, the 128-year-old health care system supports over 392,000 unique patients annually.

One of the system’s facilities is the PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview, Washington. A small five-member clinical engineering team handles the medical equipment management for this 120-bed hospital along with nine local clinics.

Those clinics include a women’s health center, occupational health center, physical rehabilitation center, dialysis, ENT, two general family clinics, an infusion center and a cancer center.

The dedicated team of biomeds cover every area of equipment.

The clinical engineering staff is made up of Lead Biomed Kelley Galletti, CRES, CBET; Biomed III Josh Lindsey, CBET; Biomed I Bobby Oliver and Yevgeniy “Eugene” Sobovoy, CBET. “He’s the ‘guru’ of our shop. We turn to him for an advice or with any

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question regarding general biomed issues as well as imaging issues,” says Sobovoy, speaking about Galletti.

Sobovoy says that Lindsey “is our OR/anesthesia biomed. Besides OR, he takes care of ventilators and general biomed equipment.” Oliver is “dialysis/ general biomed. He is the newest member on our team,” Sobovoy says.

“I take care of imaging equipment (C-arms, general radiology rooms, ultrasound, etcetera) and general biomed equipment,” Sobovoy adds.

David Smith is the department’s manager. Smith also manages the biomeds at Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington.

The department takes care of first call imaging, 24/7 on-call for emergency issues, as well as nurse call. They support imaging, OR, acute care, dialysis, GI, sleep center, RT, BHI, emergency department, cath lab and PACU. “We provide full service to patient care equipment, including repairs and PMs to our nine off-site clinics. We also maintain, repair, and PM, 28 Fresenius dialysis machines along with the reverse osmosis room, treated water distribution system/equipment, at our offsite hemodialysis clinic. Our inpatient dialysis comprises five stations on the acute care floor and 18 stations in our ICU department,” Sobovoy says.

Sobovoy says that the department has a “close and friendly relationship

with our IT and networking guys. We help them, they help us,” he says.

Data collection has seen a recent change.

“We had been using TMS as our database, but recently switched over to RSQ due to our management change,” Sobovoy says.

PROJECTS AND TROUBLESHOOTING The small department has taken on some projects in addition to its more routine daily activities. The resourcefulness of the team has also been on display as members have figured out ways to correct problems and keep everything functional.

“Recently we have been involved in implementing AvaSure tele-sitter in our hospital. Since this wasn’t a biomedmanaged project, we volunteered to assemble and label them, IT took over after that,” Sobovoy says.

He says that they also performed a recent Philips telemetry install and upgraded areas of the hospital that were not covered by the old system.

“This required hospital maps to be re-examined for AP inclusions and to verify areas of coverage utilizing existing heat maps. Areas added were our OB/labor and delivery floor, ICU, CT and a corridor providing transportation of cardio patients from hospital care to treatment areas within the hospital,” Sobovoy says.

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SPOTLIGHT

The PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center Clinical Engineering Department

Sobovoy adds that this allows for patient coverage while in transport.

“Additionally, our emergency department required installation of portable tele monitors to cover overflow when census became elevated. This was completed by us. We assembled, programmed the portable tele monitors, re-programmed the Piicix to account for the new sectors,” he says.

“We have recently had the OR booms replaced along with the surgical lighting and the monitoring equipment.

This required many meetings to ensure the video outputs and voltage requirements along with proper cabling were to be met prior to implementation and installation,” Sobovoy adds.

Sobovoy recounts a time that illustrates how additional training for HTM professionals comes in handy. In this case, they were able to help out their IT partners.

“Our dental X-ray unit in OR has its software on a laptop. One day, [an] IT

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

tech decided to upgrade it with a new one, but he wasn’t aware of proprietary software on it. He wiped the old laptop and left a blank new one for OR staff. That’s when we got a call,” he says.

“I had to install the dental X-ray software from scratch, configure PACS and networking information with IT’s help,” Sobovoy adds.

Another problem-solving effort that the biomed crew handled illustrates the importance of biomed’s role in the purchasing process.

“Most recently, [the] ultrasound department had purchased new machines (again without consulting or even including us in purchase meetings). The next day, they discovered that the new machines were not compatible with old video cabling and monitors,” he says.

“I troubleshot and found the correct video cable type, and correct resolution

monitors, that would need to be purchased and pulled/installed,” he adds.

Away from the work environment, Sobovoy says that “most of us are members of the Washington State and Oregon State Biomed associations. I’m also a member of AAMI.” The four-man biomed shop at PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center proves that a small biomed contingent, with specialized knowledge, can get the job done. The patients in Longview, Washington are the benefactors of their expertise.

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SPOTLIGHT

ASSOCIATION OF THE MONTH

The Indiana Biomedical Society

I B S

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

B

iomedical associations and societies provide many benefits to the HTM community. They are a source of knowledge and networking.

They offer the camaraderie of spending time with colleagues from different institutions and learning about the newest medical equipment from vendors.

Since 1990, one of the country’s many established and successful groups is the Indiana Biomedical Society (IBS). Started

by Jim Sheets and Mike DeJaeger, the society came about as a result of a clinical engineering survey at Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis, which indicated that biomeds felt invisible.

“Sheets and DeJaeger created a survey to see if there was interest in starting a society and mailed it out to all of the hospitals in Indiana: ‘Attention to the Biomedical or Clinical Engineering Department,’ ” says IBS President Benjamin Esslinger, CHTM, CBET. “They received enough replies that they followed up with a meeting date to ratify bylaws and start the society. The people who attended the July 14, 1990 organizational meeting were: Jim Sheets, Mike DeJaeger, George Gladding, Bruce Mueller, Mike Mullane, Jack Simmons, Bob Cartmel, Mike Bernstein, Steve Sanghvi and William Ritcher.

Furthermore, the first official membership meeting was held on September 8, 1990, with 18 people in attendance,” he says.

Esslinger says that the society is celebrating its 28th year in 2019 with its annual conference on January 26.

The other current board members 20

TECHNATION

JANUARY 2019

include Vice President Katelyn Childs, Treasurer Matthew Royal and Secretary Joe Tabas.

While training opportunities are a big part of an association’s offerings, the IBS has found a way to bring hiring managers together with potential new employees.

“The Indiana Biomedical Society recently held our third annual career fair.

The event is geared toward education, but additionally allows students and members the ability to interview with managers throughout the state,” Esslinger says.

He says that the event includes a free professional headshot, free resume builder/life coach, mock interviews with a presentation and a questionand-answer session.

IBS also holds quarterly in-person meetings. The group also sponsors scholarships to help the next generation of HTM professionals.

“The Indiana Biomedical Society has a great relationship with Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and Vincennes University.

During the annual conference, the society presents multiple scholarships to each program head from IUPUI and Vincennes to honor outstanding students in their respective programs,” Esslinger says.

“The society makes every attempt possible to invest in the growth of these students knowing they will soon be the future of our industry,” he adds.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND THE NEXT GENERATION The society has had a tradition of sponsoring a successful annual conference. This year will be no exception.

Esslinger says that the conference normally is complete “with 250-300 in attendance and 65 vendor booths each year.”

“This January 26, 2019, will be the society’s twenty-eighth annual conference with 12 educational breakout sessions and a keynote address. The conference will be located at the Sheraton City Centre located on the Circle of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana,” he says.

“Last year’s conference was wonderful. The Indiana Biomedical Society had great attendance with a record number of vendors present.

Between the brilliant keynote presentation by Billy Rios, and the fantastic education offerings by our presenters, the conference was an overall success,” Esslinger says.

He says that this year IBS has partnered with AAMI and CABMET in multiple ways. AAMI will proctor a CBET exam at the annual conference.

Also, IBS will offer the CABMET Self-Paced Study Group (starting in December) and CABMET one-day review on January 25, 2019.

One question for any HTM association or society in today’s environment has to be how they are locating new members in light of the many baby boomers who are retiring.

“Typically, the ‘new’ members of our society are students from our partner educational institutes. The students are designated as student members’ and receive a discounted member rate,” Esslinger says.

“Over the last few years, the society has targeted social media platforms to raise WWW.1TECHNATION.COM

Physician’s Resource Network

awareness and grow interest. The board of directors identified the need to keep events fun and exciting (as much as possible). Events such as Topgolf, where professional networking was the main focus, have been extremely successful and members enjoyed the event,” Esslinger adds.

He is currently serving his fourth year on the board of directors.

“Filling the positions for the board of directors has not been an easy task. I don’t expect that to change, but I do think that we have and will continue to see individuals show interest. Past board members made themselves available to the current board; now our current board must ensure that we are available to future board members,” Esslinger says.

He points to this as being one of the reasons that account for the success of IBS. “We work together to grow together,” he says.

“One last option we have seen arise with our student members at IUPUI, in the Healthcare Engineering Technology Management (HETM) program, is a ‘student’ biomedical society. The student society is a great idea and is something the Indiana Biomedical Society would like to help grow. This year we are working to have the students assist in the planning of the annual conference,” Esslinger says.

That should get the new biomeds off on the right foot. That is one of many positive benefits IBS offers members and the community. As senior-level biomeds retire, it will be groups like IBS who step up and help transition a new generation into the field, while providing training and networking opportunities.

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

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NEWS & NOTES

Updates from the HTM Industry

ALPHA SOURCE GROUP EXPANDS OFFERINGS Just a year after the acquisition of BC Technical, Alpha Source Group – now comprised of Alpha Source, Medical Optics and BC Technical – has made progress toward creating additional value-based medical device maintenance and service solutions for the health care industry.

“As one of the largest independent full service imaging services and equipment solutions companies in the United States, Alpha Source Group spent the past several years solidifying our service delivery foundation through organic growth, strategic acquisition and collaborative integration efforts,” says president Rich Springer. “In 2018, we leveraged our service excellence, deep technical expertise and large-scale program management skills to create an expanded offering around custom outsourced solutions.”

Springer points to the development of customized solutions for OEMs, ISOs, asset management companies and hospital systems as a primary driver for Alpha Source Group growth and innovation.

In addition to expanding the service portfolio, 2018 Alpha Source Group accomplishments include: • Continued growth and scale of a service team of field and depot engineers providing service for imaging and biomed medical equipment in all major markets in the U.S. • U ltrasound and densitometry were added to the modalities BC Technical services, expanding service offerings from CT, MRI, PET, PET/CT, and SPECT. • A n expanded surgical solutions depot space in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – for the repair of flexible endoscopes, rigid endoscopes, surgical instruments, power tools and cameras.

• As part of offering custom solutions, the company built an outsourced depot facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This unique model allows OEMs and other health care customers to outsource their entire service and repair functions, allowing them to focus critical internal resources on product development and innovation.

• R ich Springer was named president and Alpha Source Group hired Vionnta Rivers as chief commercial officer.

“We’ve celebrated some major accomplishments this year, and we will continue to evolve our offerings,” Springer said in November. “Our team is committed to seeking innovative solutions that provide value and the highest quality of care for our customers and their patients.” •

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

ELITE BIOMEDICAL SOLUTIONS ON INC. 5000 LIST Elite Biomedical Solutions was named on INC. 5000’s list of fastest growing companies.

“It’s an honor to be a part of this impressive list of companies. It is a direct reflection upon all of our employees’ unwavering dedication to patient safety, continued hard work, and a commitment to serve our customers,” according to a news release issued by the company.

Elite is FDA registered (3009712113) and follows the FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practices.

Elite has earned the following certifications: ISO 13485:2016 (Medical Devices); ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management); and utilizes ISO 14971 for application of risk management.

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Elite Biomedical Solutions supports hospital biomed departments with new replacement parts, recertified parts and OEM original parts for medical equipment. It also offers depot repairs as well as on-site service to its customers. The company currently offer parts and repair services for infusion pumps, ambulatory pumps, patient monitoring and telemetry devices. Elite has a core team of 41 professionals on staff including biomedical, mechanical, quality and plastic engineers. •

JANUARY 2019

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

STAFF REPORTS

CLEARWATER: SURVEY FINDINGS A ‘WAKE-UP CALL’ FOR CYBERSECURITY A national survey of U.S. health systems finds that only 29 percent report having a comprehensive cybersecurity program in place.

“Due to a growing number of internal and external security threats, it has become increasingly more difficult for health care organizations to protect their sensitive information, including patients’ personal health information,” according to CHIME HealthCare’s Most Wired: National Trends 2018 report issued during the annual CHIME Fall CIO Forum in San Diego. Clearwater, a CHIME member and health care cyber risk management solutions company, was a sponsor of the research.

Clearwater Chief Trust & Security Officer Richard Staynings said the findings from this year’s Most Wired research should be a wake-up call for health system leadership especially as health care becomes increasingly.

“The question every board of directors and executive leadership team should be asking themselves is, have we done a sufficient risk analysis, and if not, why not?” said Staynings.

“In our own analysis of the past 57 OCR settlements involving a breach of electronic protected health information, in 88 percent of the cases, the health care organization failed

to do a sufficient risk analysis. That’s pretty mind boggling.”

The Anthem data breach, affecting nearly 79 million people, is the largest ever reported, and statistics show health care breaches are on the rise, with 277 breaches through the first nine months of 2018, compared with 271 during the same period the year before. Most breaches stemmed from hacking or “IT incidents,” according to the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which enforces Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy and security rules. Regulators also noted that Anthem failed to take several basic security steps, including conducting an enterprise-wide security risk assessment on all assets involved with PHI, including assets thought to be “out of scope.”

While Most Wired found most respondents have taken at least one step toward an incident-response plan (97 percent said they have a documented EHR-outage procedure, for example), only 29 percent reported having a comprehensive cybersecurity program in place, just 26 percent surveyed said they had adopted all 10 critical components of an incident response plan, while 43 percent had adopted 7-9 components, and 31 percent reported adoption of fewer than seven. •

HIMSS ANALYTICS ESTABLISHES NEW HEALTHCARE INFRASTRUCTURE ADOPTION MODEL Electronic Health Records, population health, data analytics, telemedicine and other technology initiatives are directly reliant on the agility, security and operational efficiency of the technical infrastructure on which it sits. Planning for future scalability takes strategic and tactical know-how. To benchmark where a health system is on its technology path, HIMSS Analytics has released the INFRAM, it’s new infrastructure adoption model and named VertitechIT as one of four global certified consultants.

Massachusetts-based healthcare consultancy VertitechIT along with Cisco, Blackberry and Cognizant is one of four certified consultants trained on the INFRAM model criteria and has already begun work with major health systems throughout the United States and Canada in advancing through the process.

“Strong buildings have strong foundations,” said Michael Feld, VertitechIT President, and CEO, “and as a part of that foundation, an organization’s digital presence must be built on a strong technical network. This is what the INFRAM measures.”

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TECHNATION

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The INFRAM process begins with health systems taking a self-directed 160 question survey outlining current infrastructure capabilities. HIMSS analytics then determines a score and produces a baseline achievement report that measures progress against five focus areas (mobility, security, collaboration, transport and data center). With their score in hand, organizations can also get a gap assessment and then work with VertitechIT to understand and outline the next steps to improve their INFRAM standing.

“The HIMSS Analytics Maturity Models have become the worldwide standard for measuring health care organizations’ dedication to improving processes and outcomes through advancements in technology,” commented Blain Newton, executive vice president, HIMSS Analytics.

Similar to the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM), INFRAM is an eight-stage model (0-7) that allows healthcare IT leaders to map the technology infrastructure capabilities required to reach their facility’s clinical and operational goals while meeting industry benchmarks and standards. •

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PARTSSOURCE, NUVOLO COLLABORATE VIA HEALTHCARE EAM PLATFORM PartsSource and Nuvolo announced a strategic partnership that will offer professionals in healthcare technology management (HTM) access to 4 million medical replacement products and clinical service resources via integration inside Nuvolo’s modern, cloud-based Clinical Enterprise Asset Management (CMMS) platform to seamlessly manage the entire lifecycle of medical equipment. Together, the platform will enable clinical engineers to easily and quickly manage every aspect of a clinical asset – from following and completing a service request, to managing work orders and data, to ordering repair and maintenance products and services – on any mobile device, online or offline.

“The integration of PartsSource in Nuvolo provides a game-changer for HTM professionals,” said Phil Settimi, president and CEO of PartsSource. “Managing a fleet of clinical assets from various suppliers can be challenging. This strategic partnership provides clinical engineers an efficient, cost-effective and standardized way to identify the right clinical resource to rapidly return a mission-critical asset back into clinical use.”

Other results of the partnership: • Creates asset lifecycle management with customized reporting for making key financial decisions • Reduces parts sourcing time, streamlines and integrates work order and PO creation and tracking • Provides instant access to 4 million products from major OEMs and vetted secondary suppliers • Enables on-demand access to repair and maintenance resources across an entire asset fleet • Provides insight to real-time tracking of parts, services and on-demand resources • Streamlines documentation, PO creation, invoice reconciliation • Provides simple, user-friendly experience for technicians, with or without connectivity • Delivers an adaptive solution which scales for today’s HTM markets “This partnership is a direct result of the conversations we’ve had with leaders from national health care systems, regional providers and local health care systems who are looking to replace their legacy CMMS with a modern, cloud-based platform that integrates parts sourcing for full lifecycle management,” said Tom Stanford, CEO, Nuvolo. “We’re thrilled to link Nuvolo, the leader in cloud-based clinical enterprise asset management, with PartsSource, the nation’s largest and most well-respected health care procurement partners, to offer customers a truly innovative approach to lowering cost and driving efficiencies of their HTM programs.” •

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

STAFF REPORTS

TRIMEDX COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF ARAMARK’S HCT BUSINESS TRIMEDX, a leader in clinical asset management and clinical engineering services, has completed the acquisition of Aramark’s Healthcare Technologies (HCT) business.

“The successful completion of this acquisition is an important milestone in our strategic growth,” said Henry Hummel, CEO of TRIMEDX. “We are excited to continue to lead the transformation of the industry by expanding our proprietary technology-driven solutions to a broader set of health care provider customers, driving clinical and financial results, as well as device security and compliance, with measurable and persistent value in an ever-changing environment.”

“We are excited to be part of an organization focused exclusively on delivering best-in-class clinical asset management services,” said HCT President Kristi McDermott, of the acquired business, which has been renamed TMX Healthcare Technologies. “Both organizations share core values of innovation and improving the health and lives of our associates, our customers, and those in our communities.” •

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RIBBON CUTTING Doctors Equipment Repair

C

had Clark is a second generation biomedical technician. His father, Stephen Clark, was trained as a biomed in the U.S. Navy. He worked for over 30 years as a biomed and most of that time was at one hospital. While working for the hospital many of the surgeons started to open their own outpatient surgery centers. They didn’t have enough equipment to have their own biomed, but still needed equipment inspected to be in compliance.

“They asked my father to help them out.

It started out very part time but as other surgery centers opened, the company continued to grow,” Chad Clark said. “I was living in California at the time and contemplating a career change. I never really thought much about what my father did growing up, but I knew I needed to choose a career. My family and I moved back to Oregon in 2007 and at 29 years old I went back to college to earn an associate degree in electronics. I got hired at a hospital and earned my CBET a few years later. When my father retired, I took over the business. It continued to grow and in August 2017 I purchased Doctors Equipment Repair, another medical equipment repair company. The combination of these companies required hiring a part-time employee and helping a student earn continuing work education credits as they completed their associate degree in electronics.”

Q: WHAT IS THE MAIN FOCUS OF DOCTORS EQUIPMENT REPAIR? A: Initially our main focus has been medical equipment repair, electrical safety testing and calibrations for local medical facilities that need to have their equipment serviced regularly but are not big enough or don’t have enough

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DOCTORS Equipment Repair DOCTORS EQUIPMENT REPAIR Contact: Chad Clark, CBET Phone: 458-205-8438 Email: doctorsequipmentrepair@gmail.com Website: www.doctorsequipmentrepair.com

Chad Clark, CBET Doctors Equipment Repair equipment to have a full-time biomedical technician. However, over time we have added distributorships and warranty repair for a select group of manufacturers and, most recently, we have added depot repair services for Molift and Ergolet portable ceiling lifts.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SERVICES YOUR COMPANY OFFERS? A: On a local level we offer medical equipment repairs, calibrations and electrical safety inspections. Regionally we have been providing depot repair services for portable ceiling lifts. We support Molift Nomad and Air, and Ergolet Luna ceiling lifts and will be adding an additional manufacturer.

These depot repair services include repairs, annual certifications (safe working load testing), battery replacements and accessory replacements such as hand controls and battery chargers. With our new advertisement in TechNation, we will be offering our depot repair services for portable ceiling lifts across the country.

Q: HOW DOES YOUR COMPANY STAND OUT IN THE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT FIELD? A: On a local field service level, we stand

out because of the consistency of the people who are taking care of these medical facilities. Both my father, the previous owner of Doctors Equipment Repair, and myself have been the same faces they have seen walk through the door and I think having that relationship earns us a lot of trust. Most of our customers want someone local who they know. As for our depot repair services, we try to make the whole process as easy as possible from prepaid shipping labels to service loaners for their lifts so there is as little down time as possible.

Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC GOALS THAT YOU WANT YOUR COMPANY TO ACHIEVE IN THE NEAR FUTURE? A: Yes, I have many goals for the company. I would like to continue to grow all aspects of the business from depot repair, expanding the biomedical field service area and eventually add a sales department to help with the growth of our current distributorships and look for new partnerships. The biggest goal I have for our company is to give people who are looking to break into the biomedical industry an opportunity to learn the trade. The workforce for biomedical technicians is aging out and there are fewer schools today and less candidates to take those jobs. I have found this to be an incredibly rewarding career and would love to share that with those who want to learn the trade.

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

BY AAMI

AAMI UPDATE AAMI’S NEW OFFICE TRANSFORMS THE MEMBER EXPERIENCE AAMI staff have moved into a new state-of-the-art office space that is intended to bring new opportunities for members, standards professionals, and the health technology community. AAMI’s new headquarters, which is located at 901 N. Glebe Road in Arlington, VA, features: • The AAMI Center for Excellence, which boasts nearly 4,400 square feet of conference room space for up to 300 occupants and was designed to host most of AAMI’s standards meetings, industry training sessions, and events.

The space can be configured into two large rooms (including a 220-seat theater) or divided into as many as six smaller ones. All of the rooms leverage the latest audio, visual, and teleconferencing technology.

• An AAMI members lounge, which provides members and other visitors with a comfortable place to meet in smaller groups or conduct business while away from their office.

The lounge includes wireless Internet, a printer, and a display with traffic and transportation information.

• Convenient access to Washington, DC’s Metro system, Reagan National Airport, restaurants, and night life.

“While AAMI’s new office is just two blocks away from our previous space, the benefits to AAMI members—and all stakeholders related to our mission—will be truly transformational,” said Rob Jensen, president and CEO of AAMI. “I’m especially proud of the AAMI Center for Excellence (ACE), which will allow us to host most events in house, as well as leverage audio-visual technologies to connect with professionals all over the world. We look forward to seeing you!”

ACI BOARD SUSPENDS TWO CERTIFICATIONS After assessing feedback and participation in its programs, the AAMI Credentials Institute (ACI) Board of Directors has decided to suspend exams for Certified Laboratory Equipment Specialist (CLES) and Certified Quality System Manager (CQSM) starting in 2019.

Although ACI also was considering suspending the Certified Radiology Equipment Specialist (CRES) exam, the certification will continue to be offered as a result of increased interest by several organizations.

The ACI Board announced in the summer of 2018 that it was reevaluating those three certification programs and solicited reactions to its proposal. The comments it received were a key consideration in the decision to end the CLES and CQSM exams and continue with CRES. “These decisions were not made lightly,” said Sherrie Schulte, AAMI’s senior director of certification and the

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

AAMI Exchange. “The Board considered many factors, including the low number of test takers, the cost of maintaining the exams, and interest level within the industry.

The status of each exam will be reevaluated on an annual basis to determine if there are factors that would warrant reinstating some or all of the designations.”

Individuals who already hold the CLES or CQSM certifications will be able to continue to use the designations provided they maintain their certification by completing the necessary continuing education units and submitting the necessary renewal fees every three years. If the designation is revoked, there will not be any opportunities to retake the exams at this time.

For more information or to ask questions about this decision, please email aci@aami.org.

AAMI EXCHANGE TO LAUNCH INNOVATION COMPETITION The AAMI Exchange, AAMI’s reimagined annual conference, will feature two new forums intended to spark conversations among all of those who work with and on health technology: the AAMI Xcelerator and IoTXperience. The Exchange will take place in Cleveland, OH, from June 7 to 10.

AAMI Xcelerator

Leading the way in promoting conversations that will affect the industry in years to come, AAMI is launching its first innovation competition in conjunction with Cleveland-based bioscience company BioEnterprise at the Global Center for Health Innovation.

The AAMI Xcelerator welcomes innovators working with artificial intelligence, deep machine learning, automated learning, and blockchain solutions to improve clinical outcomes. This special one-day event will start with a morning of thought-framing sessions, followed by a pitch competition.

The AAMI Xcelerator is open to and encourages participation from professional teams. In addition to cash prizes, the event will provide mentoring and access to business advisors. Ideas will be judged by industry experts using specific criteria, including, but not limited to commercial, technical and financial viability; use of proceeds; strength of the team; and presentation of the business plan.

IoTXperience

Another new feature of the conference, the IoTXperience (IoTX), will focus on balancing opportunities with security when it comes to connected medical devices and other technology that’s part of the Internet of Things (IoT). AAMI Exchange attendees will have opportunities to attend sessions in the IoTX theater, talk to thought leaders, and experience products that are defining the future of IoT. For more information about the AAMI Exchange, visit www.aami.org/aamiexchange.

JANUARY 2019

TECHNATION

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BY ECRI

ECRI UPDATE

An Undercover Hazard: “Clean” Mattresses Can Ooze Body Fluids onto Patients

A

patient is lying on an apparently clean bed or stretcher when blood from a previous patient oozes out of the surface. Clearly, you don’t want to put your patients through that experience. But is your facility doing enough to prevent it?

For the second consecutive year, ECRI Institute addresses the topic of mattress and mattress cover contamination on its annual Top 10 list of health technology hazards.

Obstacles to addressing the issue persist, prompting ECRI to not only retain the topic, but to rank it as the Number 2 hazard on its list for 2019.

The nonprofit research organization produces its annual list to raise awareness about critical hazards associated with medical devices and systems and to promote solutions that can help prevent patient harm.

DANGER BENEATH THE SURFACE A hospital bed or stretcher consists of a frame, a foam or air mattress, and a mattress cover. The mattress cover is designed to prevent body fluids and other contaminants from entering the mattress. During room cleaning, the mattress cover is cleaned and disinfected to prepare the bed or stretcher for the next patient.

Because it is protected by the cover, the mattress itself is not cleaned between patients. If, however, the integrity of a mattress cover is compromised, contaminants can

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contact or seep into the mattress during patient care. These contaminants can remain on, or in, the mattress after cleaning, putting subsequent patients, as well as staff, at risk of exposure.

Examples exist of a patient lying on an apparently clean mattress when blood from a previous patient oozed out of the surface onto the patient.

During a search of FDA’s Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database covering the period from 2008 to June 2018, ECRI Institute identified five reports of patient bloodborne pathogen (BBP) exposure from contaminated mattresses. That’s in addition to the more than 700 reports that FDA has received of mattress covers failing to prevent blood and other body fluids from leaking into mattresses. (Reports span the six-year period from 2011 to 2016, as detailed in FDA’s Covers for Hospital Bed Mattresses: Learn How to Keep Them Safe.)

Additionally, the mattress cover itself could remain contaminated if the cleaning products or procedures used are not appropriate for the circumstances of use.

The actions required to protect patients and staff are straightforward: Mattress covers should be cleaned and disinfected between uses; they should be inspected for signs of damage between patients; and they should be discarded when they have exceeded their useful life.

However, healthcare facilities can face some unexpected obstacles when trying to put these recommendations into practice.

OBSTACLES TO MATTRESS COVER CLEANING AND DISINFECTION Adequate cleaning and disinfection requires the use of appropriate cleaning products and procedures for the types of contaminants present. Failure to do so can result in contaminants remaining on, or within, the mattress or cover. For example, using a tuberculocidal product would not be an effective disinfectant for covers contaminated with bacterial spores.

In addition, the use of products or procedures that are incompatible with the mattress cover material could cause immediate damage to, or degradation of, the mattress cover. Such damage could allow the mattress underneath to become contaminated during subsequent use.

There’s always the risk that staff will either knowingly disregard the cleaning instructions or mistakenly use inappropriate cleaning and disinfection methods. Providing comprehensive training and supplying appropriate cleaning and disinfection products are key steps to reducing that risk. Also important, however, is raising awareness about the hazard. Staff need to be educated about the consequences of improper cleaning: patients and staff can be exposed to infectious materials.

Another potential challenge, however, is that not all mattress cover suppliers recommend products and procedures that will successfully remove the likely surface contaminants without compromising the cover’s integrity—that is, creating weak spots that could allow leaks. In this situation, healthcare facilities can’t be sure which products and

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

procedures are appropriate.

If your mattress cover manufacturer or rental company does not recommend an antimicrobial product for all expected contaminants, demand that they provide this information.

“Facilities need to know how to properly reprocess mattress covers after exposure to blood, body fluids, or bacterial spores,” notes Amanda Sivek, senior project engineer in ECRI Institute’s Health Devices Group. “If this information isn’t readily apparent in the IFU, ask—and be insistent.”

Instructions should specify that a cover can be disinfected using (1) at least one product from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) List E, which covers registered antimicrobial products that are effective against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, human HIV-1, and hepatitis B virus, and (2) at least one product from EPA’s List K, which covers products that are effective against Clostridium difficile spores.

(For reference, ECRI Institute has published lists of disinfectant concentrations for all products in List E and all products in List K.)

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

OTHER CHALLENGES Identifying potential mattress or mattress cover contamination—or identifying products that are susceptible to future contamination—requires routine and appropriate inspections of each mattress and cover. Some vendors, however, do not provide a comprehensive inspection and preventive maintenance (IPM) procedure for their products, or they do not recommend an appropriate inspection frequency for them.

Consequently, environmental services or housekeeping staff may not know how to identify signs of damage when cleaning and disinfecting covers, or clinical/biomedical engineering or facilities departments may not include mattresses and covers on their IPM schedule.

Additionally, not all mattresses and mattress covers are marked with individual serial numbers or similar unique identifiers. The lack of a unique identifier complicates the process of tracking mattresses and covers for IPM purposes, as well as for identifying when a mattress or cover has exceeded its expected life.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS “The first thing we recommend is that you conduct a housewide inspection of all your mattresses and covers to identify whether any show signs of fluid ingress,” advises Sivek. “When one small facility we spoke with went looking for this problem, they found that approximately half of their mattresses showed signs of fluid ingress.”

Further, ECRI Institute recommends that healthcare facilities: 1. Require that mattress cover suppliers specify compatible antimicrobial products.

2. Use additional surfaces (pads/ chucks, mattress covers) that are compatible with your mattresses.

3. Train staff to recognize mattress cover problems (e.g., tears, cracks).

4. Verify that relevant cleaning checklists include recommended procedures and materials for cleaning mattress covers and steps for inspecting mattresses and covers.

5. Add mattresses and covers to your IPM schedule, if they are not already included.

Finally, when selecting mattresses and mattress covers for future procurement, the organization recommends that you favor products that facilitate cleaning, inspection, and tracking.

Stay tuned for the next issue of TechNation, where more hazards from the list are uncovered.

This article supplements ECRI Institute’s 2019 Top 10 Health Technology Hazards report. An Executive Brief of the report can be downloaded from ECRI Institute as a free public service. The full 2019 Top 10 Health Technology Hazards Solutions Kit, which includes detailed problem descriptions and recommendations for addressing the hazards, requires membership in ECRI Institute programs.

For more information, visit www.ecri. org/2019Hazards, or contact ECRI Institute by telephone at (610) 825-6000, ext. 5891, or by e-mail at clientservices@ecri.org.

JANUARY 2019

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THE BENCH

STAFF REPORTS

SHOP TALK Q:

Anyone know what the max leakage current is for the T6H? I have a customer who keeps saying her probes are failing the bite hole test. They were using a TD100, but I think it stopped working. Now, they’re using the pocket bite hole tester with the probes submerged in a bucket of warm salt water.

A:

Acertara has a document as part of our Blue Paper series titled, “A Thinker’s Guide for Electrical Leakage Testing of Ultrasound Probes” that will provide the information you need. The document collects international standards and manufacturers’ recommendations along with Acertara’s 20-year track record of developing leading-edge ultrasound test equipment and probe repair for the health care market.

A:

Have to be careful as the off-the-shelf meters have a lower threshold as well as a high threshold. The Fluke ULT 800 can indicate a fail if enough of the probe is not submerged in the test liquid or if there is a poor connection somewhere. This could be the issue. Look closely at the fail LED. If it flashes (once per second), this is the issue. If the LED is solid, there is a definte failure. Can you determine the make/model of leakage meter? This probe model usually has a leakage value ranging from 70-120 uA.

that is exceeding the normal, like new leakage current is already posing a risk to the patient. I once did a demonstration of the BC Group ULT-2020 (also called iTest) and the Philips TE probe I was given to use had just over 140uA of leakage, and after holding it for only a few minutes it turned the palm of my hand black from the insertion tube. Imagine what it does to the patient when it is in their esophagus! Plus, elevated leakage current indicates something is starting to fail and the sooner that is repaired, and in general the sooner it gets fixed, the less it will cost.

AGFA DRYSTAR 5300

Q: A: A:

I have a problem with my Drystar 5300.

It gave me a system failure error.

Software or hard drive failed. Install new flash card and reload software.

Before anything, do the easy steps. Check for weird sounds coming from the back part (where the hard drive is located).

Open the side and look up at the motherboard. Check for any red LEDs; if any of them are lit up, then you have a bad board.

A:

A:

A:

A:

The GE bite hole indicator has a maximum output of only 260 microAmps. If the test is being done correctly, it sounds like the probe is definitely failing. There are better electrical leakage testers available, and GE is recommending the use of the BC Group ULT-2010 with special adapters for GE 6Tc and 9T probes.

I can’t recommend the BC Group meter enough. It’s what we use in our Center of Excellence for Ultrasound. It offers simplicity and ease of use for end-users, but also a more technical mode for the service engineer. BC group has worked with both GE and Philips and has programmed the proper defaults into their meter. The meter also allows for custom limits, but the defaults are 185uA for Philips and 350uA for GE.

A:

Even though the upper leakage current limit given by Philips is higher, experience has shown that any TE (TEE/TOE) probe

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TECHNATION

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If there are no red LEDs, then you have a software or hard drive issue. I think there is a compact flash card on the tray.

You can try to reinstall the software from there.

This issue may actually be related to the RF card that is included with each box of film. I ran into this issue about a year ago. A new shipment of film would not run in my 5300. I contacted AGFA tech support and explained what was happening. A technician had to come on site to reprogram the printer to accept the new film. Could not do this online. There was no charge.

SHOP TALK

is compiled from MedWrench.com. Go to www.MedWrench.com community threads to find out how you can join and be part of the discussion.

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THE BENCH

BY DALE MUNSON

BIOMED 101

Criteria for Selecting an ESU Analyzer

BY DALE MUNSON

A

s a longtime trainer on electrosurgical products, I’m often asked questions about test equipment and, more particularly, this question: “Can you tell me which ESU analyzer is best?” But, it’s like asking me, “How many calories are in a meal?” With either question, the answer depends on a substantial number of situational variables that can be evaluated and determined on a case-by-case basis.

Based on my experience with a variety of analyzers, I do have a well-informed opinion of which analyzer I believe is best, but I’d rather answer in terms of what’s most important to the person asking the question. For some it’s price or accuracy; for others it might be features, portability or auto-sequencing capabilities.

In this article, I want to point out some of the key factors that should be taken into consideration when making this important capital equipment decision. I’m particularly motivated to provide this information because I’ve seen and heard so many misrepresentations, omission of facts, half-truths and misleading statements by a variety of test equipment vendors.

Overall, my advice is to make sure you’re well informed. Don’t make a decision based on the “best-thing-sincesliced-bread” claims of a salesperson or fancy marketing materials. Put in the effort. Do your research with an eye on the “big picture” objective.

First, no company provides a perfect solution when it comes to ESU

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testing. All analyzers have their merits and faults. Following are eight factors to consider as you evaluate ESU analyzers.

ACCURACY • I ndependent verification of product claims • B enchmarking analytics (actual output data comparison) Is the analyzer capable of testing the generator to the specifications defined in the service manual (e.g., 1%, 3% or 5% accuracy)? Many analyzers can’t meet the stated specs, but the ESU vendors won’t tell you that. Instead, they’ll use fancy sales jargon or half-truths to make you believe it’s fully compliant. Further, is there empirical data (in an easy to understand format) that supports their claims?

VERSATILITY • Ability to measure different output waveforms • Product embedded features Many generators now have pulsed outputs (e.g., Olympus, Conmed, Soring, BOWA, Codman, Ellman, Macan, Sutter, KLS Martin and ERBE).

Even generators that have been around for years like the Conmed 5000 and 2450 have pulsed output modes. These outputs cannot be measured by most analyzers. If your hospital decides to switch to different ESU generators – generators that have pulsed mode outputs – you’ll have to replace your current ESU analyzer. Ouch!

EASE OF USE • User interface

Dale Munson

• Auto sequencing • Required (manual) interactions during normal use Is the analyzer easy to use? Is the GUI intuitive? How many manual interactions (cable or jumper moves) are required during a PM? Does the analyzer have true autosequencing abilities? Many vendors say they do, but that depends on how they define auto-sequencing. Be very careful here. True auto-sequencing of PM steps will save considerable time and, of course, time savings translates into real money. Have the vendor demonstrate this feature to you and then you be the judge of the associated time savings.

INPUTS/OUTPUTS • Compare each analyzer’s ability to: • Connect to external devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse or storage device) • Generate and store test results • Display output data, such as power curves LONGEVITY FOR INTENDED USE • Reliability/MTBF • Durability • Upgradability Does the analyzer solve both the present and future needs? Can the analyzer be upgraded easily if output requirements change?

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COME GROW WITH US PORTABILITY Many times, the size and weight of an analyzer is an important consideration. Consider how the analyzer is going to be used? Is it going to be carried from site to site or is it primarily used on the test bench? It is worthwhile to consider the size/weight vs. capabilities tradeoff as part of your evaluation.

EXPERIENCE AND REPUTATION OF EQUIPMENT VENDOR What is the history of the vendor? Can you gain access to technical documentation and online help easily? Is it a hassle to resolve issues with them? Are repair prices reasonable?

Build Your Career at Crothall Healthcare Technology Solutions

COST • Time savings (and associated cost savings) • Total cost of ownership (TCO) • Return on investment (ROI)

Career opportunities abound when you are part of a growing Team. Crothall Healthcare Technology Solutions (HTS) has grown 373% in just the last 5 years and an amazing 20 times over in the last 10 years. With growth comes new jobs and new opportunities.

PRICE I left one of the top considerations for last: price. Typically, biomed managers and “bean counters” are interested in the lowest price. But is it price or cost that should be of most interest to them? Price is a one-time thing; cost takes into consideration many factors over a product’s lifetime. Test equipment vendors compete to offer the lowest price, but, when considering effectiveness, features, ease of use and long-term applicability (considering ever changing technological requirements), it should be the overall cost that is of most interest. As Zig Zigler once said, “Wouldn’t it be better to pay a little more than you planned, than a little less than you should.” In my opinion, you should take the above factors into consideration when considering an analyzer’s cost.

I hope this information makes it easier for you to make an informed decision on your next ESU analyzer purchase.

Dale Munson is an accomplished corporate trainer, writer, and speaker.

He has more than 35 years of experience designing training programs, which are uniquely targeted to his technical audiences.

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

Come see why Crothall has earned Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work six years in a row.

ISN’T IT TIME FOR YOU TO FIND OUT MORE? Come grow with us. Please contact: Glenn Garrett Talent Acquisition Recruiter Glenn.garrett@compass-usa.com

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lobal medical battery manufacturer Ultralife Corporation’s URB12400-U1-SMB batteries are now qualified for use with medical cart inverters from Tripp Lite and Ametek Powervar. With this compatibility, medical cart manufacturers and hospital equipment specifiers that were considering traditional lead acid batteries can now benefit from the latest lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) technology. The 12.8V 38.4Ah (492Wh) URB12400-U1-SMB, also referred to as the “Smart U1,” was developed as a direct replacement for existing LiFePO4 batteries and sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries currently used in medical carts. While SLA batteries are known to poorly perform in cyclic applications, Ultralife’s Smart U1 battery can be fully charged and discharged more than 2,000 times. The battery’s advanced Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) chemistry which is renowned for its reliability and safety has been combined with Ultralife’s Smart Circuit technology which works in conjunction with the inverter to provide the cart user with accurate real-time data such as available capacity, remaining runtime and battery health. The battery also actively protects itself against abnormal use so cannot be accidentally over-charged or over-discharged.

For more information, visit www.ultralifecorporation.com.

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

JANUARY 2019

TECHNATION

41

THE BENCH

STAFF REPORT

SERIES CONTINUES TO DELIVER CE CREDITS STAFF REPORT

T

he Webinar Wednesday series continues to provide biomeds an opportunity to earn CE credits from the ACI. Four presentations in October and November covered a variety of topics.

EFFICIENCY AND CONSISTENCY The Webinar Wednesday presentation “Planning for the Future: Using Lean to Address CE Inefficiencies and Interns to Address CE Labor Shortages” provided insights to promote efficiency and consistency. The webinar was sponsored

by PartsSource.

Presenter Glenn Schneider, director of clinical engineering at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Ohio, shared the story of how one clinical engineering department at a children’s hospital went from an immeasurable and untraceable repair process to taking most repairs in-house and greatly diminishing the need to purchase new assets.

Attendees learned how to create a successful intern program to overcome the stresses of a retiring workforce and why targeted projects are more effective rather than large-scale, general changes.

He also discussed how applying lean principles and established processes creates efficiency and consistency.

Schneider even shared an example of how Cincinnati Children’s internship program allowed for a lean approach to a CareFusion Pump Repair program.

“Wonderful Webinar Wednesday

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JANUARY 2019

today! A great real-life example of innovation in action to improve patient care,” Imaging Specialist R. Marek stated.

MODERN ANALYTICS, REPORTING The Nuvolo-sponsored webinar “Modern HTM Analytics and Reporting – Better Decisions and Compliance Without Extra Work” presented by Kyle Holetz was well received by attendees.

Holetz, a senior solution consultant at Nuvolo, showed attendees the value in controlling the way users interact with entering data within the system and the value that can bring to reporting and analytics in various areas like EOC reporting, competency, PM completion, AEM documentation and capital planning.

Attendees saw how a modern CMMS allows for a shift in thought and process when it comes to reporting and analytics.

They also discovered how a customerdefined data model collects the information needed at the point of service without extra work. A new way of handling regulatory reporting native in the platform was also discussed.

Attendees found the webinar to be a great educational value.

“I found that the webinar was very informative, learning about Nuvolo, modern enterprise asset management.

There were a lot of features, that I felt were useful, such as projecting a team to work more efficiently by looking at the need for cross training, and keeping the time on a job that was completed. Also looking into equipment that needs to be retired due to expenses,” said D. Phillips, biomedical technician.

“Great Presentation. Well spoken and informative. It is always good to know about a program that can do what your current program cannot and keep feeding that information to administration – especially on the cost-savings front,” said B. Judah, biomedical technician.

“Today’s Webinar Wednesday session opened my eyes to many reporting and analytic opportunities through a robust CMMS platform,” said M. Dowd, HTM unit head.

QA TESTING SHORTCUTS The Webinar Wednesday session “Efficiency in RTI Solutions” sponsored by RTI was a big hit with biomeds.

This 60-minute webinar featured Erik Wikström, key account manager at RTI AB. He discussed the Ocean Quick Check and how it has helped imaging technicians reduce the time needed for QA testing. He said it does this while also improving the quality and accuracy of X-ray QA reporting. In addition, Wikström demonstrated shortcuts on how to improve QA procedures for users of RTI’s Ocean software.

Webinar attendees gave Wikström’s session positive reviews.

“I think giving the opportunity to get information on the industry delivered to very busy professionals in the Webinar Wednesday format is priceless. I am often pressed for time. As a supervisor, I send my team members out for training only to be left behind. These webinars keep me relevant and informed,” said Biomed Supervisor T. McKenna.

“Fantastic way to stay current with

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THE BENCH

AFFORD

clinical engineering topics even if they are not directly related to your duties. If you’re a gizmo guy this is the best ... and it’s free,” shared H. Tucker, principal FSE, Technical Services.

“This webinar was very informative, the application’s ease of use was especially interesting. The presenter made using the program seem stress free. Overall, a very good presentation,” said B. Hayes, CBET. REMANUFACTURED TRANSDUCERS The webinar “How Low Quality Remanufactured Parts Inside Medical Devices Increase Total Cost Of Ownership” was sponsored by Summit Imaging. It delivered helpful information regarding the detection of poor quality ultrasound transducers.

This 60-minute webinar featured Larry Nguyen, CEO and CTO at Summit Imaging, and Summit Imaging Manager of Global Education and Training Kyle Grozelle.

During the presentation, health care facility professionals learned how to protect themselves from counterfeit ultrasound transducers that pose a risk to patient safety and can lower a facility’s quality of care.

The Summit Imaging duo explained how the health care industry is being deceived, as invalidated ultrasound remanufactured components are being hidden inside transducers under the illusion of “repair.” These compromised transducers are exposing health care facilities to severe increases in total cost of ownership and unnecessary liabilities, all while hiding in OEM marked bodies.

Attendees appreciated the webinar.

“This webinar was fantastic in helping determine the problems with short-term fixes versus quality. I was not aware of how some of the parts were hidden inside components. The poor quality and parts that were not vetted can be a high risk when it comes to patient care as well. I was very interested in all the information presented and look forward to any contact with Summit Imaging,” said H. Martin,

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

clinical engineer.

The Webinar Wednesday series also continues to receive rave reviews.

“This is a great series. It always surprises me how much there is to learn about and this gives working professionals and students the opportunity to learn from a wide variety of experts we would not normally have access to,” shared L. Kosir, instructor/program head.

“Each Friday, I promote Webinar Wednesday to our whole 40-member team through email as a way for all to: learn a new facet of our business, learn new ways of thinking, and keep up with changes in the industry,” said D. Mills, CE manager.

“Webinar Wednesday is a great way to be exposed to new companies and new technology,” said M. Romano, clinical engineering technician.

“Webinar Wednesdays consistently present up–to-date and relevant information to people in the HTM field, both managers and technicians alike,” shared N. Scholze, BMET training program/instructor.

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ROUNDTABLE

STAFF REPORT

ROUNDTABLE Patient Monitors

T

he monthly roundtable article continues to be a popular feature in TechNation. This month we look at patient monitors. We found several industry experts eager to share their insights on these important devices. In this month’s installment we explore what to look for when buying patient monitors in regards to basic functions, the latest features, cybersecurity and more.

The members of the panel sharing their insights on patient monitors in 2019 are Bio-Medical Equipment Service Company’s Ethan Baker, Avante Patient Monitoring Technical Solutions Manager Brian Barton, USOC Medical Quality Manager Joseph Bowen, BETA Biomed Services Inc. COO DR Flower, Elite Biomedical Solutions Patient Monitoring Specialist Alero Olomajeye and Integrity Biomedical Services Owner Michele Shahbandeh.

Q: WHAT ARE THE BASIC CAPABILITIES BIOMEDS MUST INSIST UPON WHEN PURCHASING PATIENT MONITORS? Baker: When selecting your patient monitoring system, you must be careful to set yourself up for the future. As we all know patient monitoring systems are not cheap, so it is imperative to select a system that allows growth in the quantity of connected devices, capability add ons and, most importantly, service options for warranty and non-warranty requirements.

Barton: Biomeds don’t insist on having basic capabilities or measurements. They may require specific software and settings so that the monitor will be compatible with other systems in the hospital. The specific hospital department that has the need for the monitors will have requirements per their patient type. The most basic parameters that you will have on any patient monitor will be NIBP, Sp02, and ECG beyond these the clinical staff may call for things like C02, temperature, invasive blood pressure, cardiac output, bispectral index, etc.

Bowen: Well, the basics to patient monitoring are ECG, SP02 and NiBP. However, before making any purchases the biomed staff needs to ensure that the patient monitors they are purchasing fit the needs of the hospital staff. There are a wide variety of monitors, each with their own capabilities. To determine which monitors are best used for the hospital, good communication between departments and staff is key. The needs of the patient, the capabilities of the staff and the business needs of the organization all play a role.

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Flower: This would depend on the area of the facility that the monitors are being used. An ER suite would have different requirements than a general ward or an EMS setting. A thorough understanding of the environment in which the monitor is being used is paramount in deciding what capabilities are a must – whether it is a hand held or a multiparameter monitor. Ease of use, durability and support of OEM are other aspects to be concerned with.

Olomajeye: The basic capabilities biomeds must insist upon when purchasing patient monitors are ECG, NIBP, SPO2, vitals data storage, network capability, backwards compatibility and electronic medical record firmware.

Shahbandeh: The basic capabilities are mostly the same, it is the aesthetics and ease of use for the staff that are more of a concern.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME NEW FEATURES THEY SHOULD SEEK OUT WHEN PURCHASING PATIENT MONITORS? Ethan Baker, Bio-Medical Equipment Service Company Baker: Some of the most exciting new features we are seeing on the market are real-time/ remote monitoring, expanded mobility and patient privacy security upgrades. Real-time and remote monitoring are allowing shorter hospital stays which is resulting in the need for higher level of security of patient data.

Overall, this is helping to drive patient and doctor costs lower.

Barton: Features on patient monitors haven’t changed tremendously in recent years. Networking capability and wireless function continue to get stronger. There are monitors that are small enough to be patient worn and at the same time transmit an RF signal back to a central monitoring station.

Flower: As technology is changing quite frequently there will always be new features or bells and whistles. It is very important to realize which is which. Many of the newer bells and whistles are not necessary, but some features, such as touch screens, are very valuable in certain settings. Again, it would depend on the area that the monitors are being used.

Olomajeye: Some of the new features that should be sought out when purchasing patient monitors are modular scalability, ability to display pertinent data from other equipment such as ventilators,

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portability, mobile platform and wireless network capability.

Shahbandeh: Wireless capabilities, displays with information directly on the transmitters have been a plus with staff use.

Portability of one unit to another- thru modular exchange.

Q: WHAT SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION IN REGARDS TO CYBERSECURITY CONCERNS? Baker: As with any item that is connected to a network there are security risks at some level, regardless if the device is medical related or not. We must always be on the front line of our security to identify those risks and mitigate to the highest levels. We have to be willing to continue to upgrade our people, products, systems and process as cybersecurity evolves.

Barton: All reputable manufacturers will have continual advances in software and hardware, but concern over cybersecurity rests in the hands of hospital information systems staff.

Bowen: All systems should undergo a risk analysis and, based upon the risks, controls and policies should be implemented to mitigate them. Some of the basics for protecting against cybersecurity threats are encryption of sensitive data, a password policy, data back-up policy, personal device policy, a software update policy, and education and training.

Flower: With the cooperation from IT, understanding how the network works and making sure the firewall is adequate for the environment. Knowing what is involved in any software updates and how this can affect the cybersecurity effectiveness of the system.

How easily can, or should, backups be made. As there are more and more telemetry and wearable devices being introduced to the market, the facility’s overall network needs to be assured of security.

understanding is in place, you can identify high risk devices and add a higher level of security to prevent violations of HIPPA regulations.

Brian Barton, Avante Patient Monitoring Barton: When purchasing refurbished or previously used equipment biomeds would want to be sure to “wipe clean” any patient information and demographics. Most patient monitors do not store other pertinent patient information.

Joseph Bowen, USOC Medical Bowen: Given that HIPPA’s primary concern is with the safe keeping of patient data, biomeds should check all used equipment to make sure that they have been properly purged of any previous patient data. The biggest concern here is when a biomed is decommissioning, transferring or recycling older equipment. They must make sure that any data that might be needed is retained, and that all patient related information is removed from any and all equipment before transferring.

Flower: This would come from the vendor. Most OEMs can provide the clinical environment with proof of adherence to HIPAA regs. After purchase, careful consideration of cybersecurity concerns mentioned above should prevent any violations of HIPAA regulations.

Olomajeye: Biomeds can ensure that purchased equipment does not violate any HIPAA regulations by purchasing equipment that has

Olomajeye: Central monitoring systems, patient vitals storage and EMI servers should have proper password management, redundant data storage (cloud and data center), proper back-up protocol, emergency preparedness measures, such as data storage servers that only connected to load data for the day and are then disconnected in case there is a ransomware attack.

Q: HOW CAN BIOMEDS MAKE SURE PURCHASED EQUIPMENT DOES NOT VIOLATE ANY HIPAA REGULATIONS? Baker: In order to properly protect patient information you have to understand what equipment in your network is capable of gathering, storing, and reporting patient information. Once this process and

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screens that can be put on standby while still monitoring at the nursing station and patient profile data that can encrypted in the patient room and hallway screens, while still visible at the nursing station.

Q: WHEN IT COMES TO END OF LIFE, WHAT STEPS CAN BE TAKEN TO HELP FURTHER EXTEND USEFULNESS OF PATIENT MONITORS? Baker: It is key that you follow OEM recommended maintenance, and procedures on your devices. Our customers have been the most successful in extending the lives of their devices when they engage with us early in the process. Customers willing to invest in preventative maintenance programs, repairs and software upgrades throughout the life of the products, rather than at the end have seen product life extension that pays for itself.

Barton: Staying up to date on preventative maintenance is a great way to make sure end of life equipment will continue to perform.

Teaming up with Pacific Medical will allow hospitals to use their monitors and service them well after the OEM announces end of life. We have aftermarket and refurbished parts for almost every major manufacturer and we have the ability to perform sophisticated repairs on monitors.

Bowen: Keep up with your PMs. If it’s a piece of equipment that has air vents and fans to help vent out heat, include it in your PM schedule at least once a year to open it up and dust it out. Heat and dust are the number one killer of electronic equipment. This can be time consuming, but it is without a doubt the simplest and easiest way to extend the life of your equipment and save potentially thousands of dollars. You would be shocked at the amount of dust we have observed in customer equipment.

DR Flower, Beta Biomed Services Inc. Flower: Most monitors do not die at the OEMs EOL date. If the monitors are staying in the clinical environment, the HTM professional should have a maintenance history of the monitor and with the understanding of the OEMs suggestive PMs and a little TLC, it should be able to last a bit longer. If the monitors are going to be replaced, there are third-party vendors that will take the monitors and refurbish them and place them in another clinical setting.

Olomajeye: Many hospitals use patient monitors well past end of life. Reaching out to ISOs who always have monitors and monitor parts in stock is a viable solution. They also have certified technicians on site to repair equipment with end of life status.

Shahbandeh: Find an ISO 9001-2015 certified company that supports your end of life units, using parts that are comparable to OEM parts and the facility gives you a substantial warranty.

Q: WITH SYSTEMS TRANSITIONING, HOW CAN BIOMEDS ENSURE THAT

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STAFF REPORT

MONITORS ARE COMPATIBLE? Baker: OEMs will regularly publish compatibility matrix for the equipment they currently have in the field against new products that will be released. The biomed department should ensure that they are staying up to date with current and future releases. A subscription to TechNation can help keep them up to date on technologies and compatibilities with a little research.

Barton: This is difficult to ensure. The best way to be sure monitors are compatible is use the same manufacturer hospital wide for monitoring.

Bowen: Typically, the OEM that you are purchasing from should be able to tell you what the new equipment is or isn’t compatible with.

If you’re transitioning to newer equipment but keeping older equipment in service, make sure to ask the right questions from whomever you are purchasing new equipment from.

Flower: An understanding at the beginning of the purchasing process of what the compatibility is and what the expandability of the monitor will be in the future. Be sure that the vendor is willing to work with you to meet any changes in the technology in the future. Software upgrades are a must when negotiating the purchase of new monitors. As quickly as technology is changing, the monitors must be able to change with the times.

Alero Olomajeye, Elite Biomedical Solutions Olomajeye: When transitioning systems, biomeds should ensure backwards compatibility and compatibility in general, by performing full systems tests as well as testing different scenarios in different departments (ICU, surgery, etc.) to ensure a successful transition.

Shahbandeh: Up-to-date software applications through the OEM and continue to purchase through reliable second-source companies with the integrity of the software.

Q: WHAT ALARM FEATURES (ALARM DELAYS, ABILITY TO CUSTOMIZE ALARMS, ALARM ENABLE/DISABLE, ETC.) SHOULD BIOMEDS SEEK OUT? Baker: Most patient monitoring equipment comes with features that allow alarm customization. The biomed needs to ask the question: Does the hospital want the nursing staff to have the ability to change alarm features? If not, then the hospital needs to make sure that the equipment they are purchasing is protected from these types of changes.

Barton: This will be the decision of the clinical staff. Most patient monitoring allows for customized settings of alarm function. There are standard settings or configurations that can be loaded on a monitor but those can be adjusted to suit the needs of the department they are going into.

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Bowen: These types of things shouldn’t be the concern of the biomed. The clinical staff needs to make this determination. Certain units within a hospital might want only visual alarms, while other more critical units might want the loudest and brightest alarm available.

Flower: All the ones mentioned plus a lockout to prevent the patient from making any changes to the settings.

Olomajeye: The alarm features biomeds should seek out are easily customizable alarms that are unique to each department and patient in order to reduce alarm nuisance. Alarm features that can allow alarms to be escalated to different staff and devices as well as one that can collect data for analysis for process improvement purposes are important.

Q: WHAT ELSE DO YOU THINK TECHNATION READERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PURCHASING AND SERVICING PATIENT MONITORING DEVICES? Flower: The most important thing to keep in mind, is that all parties must come together to make these decisions. Which type of monitor that will be purchased will come from what is the environment that it will be used. Don’t think of the OEM as a combatant in the process. They should be looked at as a partner in the decision. Purchasing, IT, biomed, clinical users and senior level management should all be included in the decision. Also,

consumables need to be addressed at the point of purchase. Make sure to check on the availability of replacement cables or can they be repaired. Please make sure that all documentation for the monitor is provided – preferably in PDF format. Any training necessary for the operation of the monitor(s) should be included in the purchase contract.

Olomajeye: Patient monitors are versatile, long-lasting equipment.

They are modular and feature driven. Purchasing can be done by feature and module to fit different departments. Most monitor vendors have equipment that is backwards compatible to allow for efficient and optimal use. They can be used well past the end of life.

ISOs have parts and equipment to keep monitors running if needed.

Michele Shahbandeh, Integrity Biomedical Services Shahbandeh: Do research on who you are using for repairs and purchases. Can they support the equipment? Do they have access to parts? Are they knowledgeable? Buy from a qualified company that focuses on the quality of the equipment and ask for details on their warranty. Check out their customer service and desire to help the customer. Inquire on technical support and the availability of it.

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GETTING PLUGGED IN Being connected can mean many things to many people.

Maybe it’s about finding the right person to get a great deal on a vehicle purchase or getting seats eight rows behind the dugout at a baseball game.

The expression has a special significance to those in the HTM field, who are ever more involved in connected networks and data or connecting through social media or through conferences with peers. Being connected requires a special skill-set in either case.

For several years now, the evolution in biomed has made it more important to gain networking knowledge as medical devices become more connected and data requires sharing and protection.

Through special training, certifications and additional degrees, many HTM professionals are adding specialized credentials to their resumes.

On the human connection side, social media has made networking with disparate and geographically diverse groups of people possible. Websites like LinkedIn bring together employers, peers and collaborators. The site provides job search capabilities and the ability to connect with hundreds of others who are affiliated through profession or organizations.

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

Conferences and trade shows also offer the ability to rub shoulders with hiring managers and counterparts from other organizations. Annual or semi-annual conferences and expos like MD Expo, AAMI annual conference or ASHE Annual Conference and Technical Exhibition, offer excellent networking opportunities for HTM professionals. The next MD Expo is set for Houston, Texas this April. Details about the conference, including educational offerings and registration, are available at MDExpoShow.com.

The 2018 AAMI conference, in Long Beach, California included 2,500 attendees from across the U.S. and other countries. It also included a number of education sessions. The Expo portion included a number of exhibitors (nearly 200) and training opportunities. AAMI’s 2019 conference will be held in June in Cleveland, Ohio.

As a matter of fact, the conference and expo provide interactions between so many different stakeholders, that AAMI rebranded the show from the AAMI Conference and Expo to the AAMI Exchange. That will be the new name beginning in 2019.

“MD Expo strives to provide healthcare technology management professionals with a unique, intimate and rewarding conference second to none” is how the Expo’s website describes the event.

The website goes on to describe the event as an opportunity to network.

“For three eventful days, clinical engineers, biomedical technicians, directors and managers, procurement/asset managers and others responsible for medical technology will gather in a one-of-a-kind warm and welcoming environment to network with peers, learn the latest technologies and advances in

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HTM. Find out what everyone has been talking about; this is one event you can’t afford to miss.”

Building a trusted group of colleagues/peers is the goal. Networking is key to sharing ideas and newfound knowledge. Bringing employers, HTM professionals, trainers and keynote speakers together allows for interactions that benefit all involved.

GATHERING TOGETHER An industry conference or trade show is the perfect opportunity to engage in networking.

Sharing experiences, knowledge and training are all a big part of the experience of gathering together as a community within HTM. The opportunity to gather together comes through local and national events.

It may be one of the most fruitful means to network with many useful “takeaways” resulting from the experience. The only frustration for many biomeds is the tight budget environment many face.

“I think that conferences like MD Expo and AAMI [conferences] provide a great opportunity for HTM leaders to meet each other and collaborate.

However, at some facilities, it may be difficult for the HTM manger to justify the travel expense to administration, and if it is approved, he/she may be the only person from the department who can attend,” says Ryan Harris, CBET, director of Healthcare Technology Management at Texoma Medical Center in Denison, Texas.

“I also believe that attending MD Expo and AAMI conferences have been huge benefits to my career. At these events you tend to participate in the classes and seminars that pertain to your most current situation, dilemma or interest. And, as a result, you are

Christopher Bryant Imaging Specialist, Lovell Federal Health Care Center

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surrounded with likeminded people that can open your eyes to a different vantage point that may or may not have been open to you,” says Courtney Haschke, biomed supervisor at BSA Health System in Amarillo, Texas.

Haschke goes on to say that some of the best and most helpful moments are the open forums at the end of the classes, when all the engineers stay for a while to compare notes and experiences.

“Those informal moments have lead me to some great problem solving within my hospital. I was fortunate to be able to attend the MD Expo Nashville 2018 and I met some fantastic mentors in the leadership classes that I attended.

Speaking with those women gave me the confidence to deal with my struggles as a new and young leader,” she says.

Haschke says that even if you are the type of person to sit and listen, rather than speak and be active in a discussion, conferences are a wonderful and amazing tool for networking.

“Sitting through and absorbing what others have gone on to learn before you can have a major impact on your career,” Haschke adds.

STATE AND LOCAL GROUPS CONNECT While the conferences and expos happen once or twice a year, a more local form of networking occurs monthly or quarterly during the meetings of HTM associations and societies.

“One method of networking that all levels of the HTM community can participate in at a low cost is the local HTM association. If there is a local group around, then you should try to attend the meetings whenever you can. These meetings provide an opportunity to share local job openings, meet new people and collaborate with other HTM groups near you that may be facing similar struggles,” Harris says.

Courtney Haschke Biomed Supervisor, BSA Health System

AAMI lists 59 of these associations and societies across the U.S. and several more international groups. Most offer many opportunities to network, with regularly scheduled meetings and events throughout the year. Many also have an annual conference or symposium, with manufacturers’ representatives and others available. Training and continuing education credits are also a feature of these events.

“I was lucky enough to become part of the Clinical Engineering Association of Illinois (CEAI) in the early years of the association. We have had some great leadership that did some really innovative things to encourage networking,” says Christopher Bryant, an imaging specialist for the Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Chicago.

“By including professors from the local college that had a biomed program, we were able to use their spaces for chapter meetings and had an open door invitation to any students that wanted to participate,” Bryant says.

He adds that they have always promoted the relationships with the HTM community and the vendors who support and work with them.

“One memorable chapter meeting was held at Dunlee where the president of the CEAI did something I’ll never forget.

While at lunch, he asked all of the managers, with an open position they were looking to fill, to raise their hands.

And then he asked all the BMET students, or those looking for a position, to raise their hands. Then, he told them to start networking,” Bryant says.

Bryant says that something that was as simple as that made use of an impromptu situation to produce real results that a job fair might not have even achieved.

“So, the lesson learned was to always be on the look out to take advantage of a

Ryan Harris, CBET Director of Healthcare Technology Management, Texoma Medical Center

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“Always be on the look out to take advantage of a situation where we can bring people together.”

CHRISTOPHER BRYANT situation where we can bring people together. I have been with the CEAI leadership team, putting on conferences for about 10 years now, and it’s great to see members come back who started out at the association as students and who are now being able to reach out to the next batch for work leads,” Bryant adds.

In addition to associations, nearly any training opportunity offers the chance to spend time with industry colleagues and find new mentors and contacts.

“As biomeds, we are in a unique position to constantly attend trainings for specific equipment in our hospitals.

The relationships I have started and formed at these schools is one of my greatest tools. The technicians that attend these schools are in the trenches with you and are great support for problems you have never seen before,” Haschke says.

She says that she hasn’t been to a school yet that contact info hasn’t been shared for future troubleshooting help and sometimes moral support.

“These friendships and networking assets have also provided me with a knowledge base for many platforms other than what we are currently attending training for. At the lunch table, you tend to compare horror stories of equipment types and models to stay away from and inadvertently learn from senior and more experienced techs. As a young female when I started in this career path, some of the greatest advice I received came from seasoned techs from all over the country,” Haschke adds.

The bottom line with any networking opportunity is adding contacts to your list and making useful connections.

“In general, it pays to build relationships with everyone you can within the medical device industry.

While some OEMs and HTM may not always see eye to eye on service strategies, the field engineers that they

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

employ often bounce back and forth between the two arenas, and I have found that maintaining positive relationships with them is always a good idea,” Harris says.

Haschke says that as far as which method works the best, she believes it depends on the individual and the ability to recognize opportunities when they present themselves.

“Whether its conferences, expos, trainings, or social media, it’s the getting out there that is important. Why limit yourself to just one platform,” Haschke says.

MEDICAL DEVICE NETWORKING KNOW-HOW While making human connections offers career growth opportunities on the human side, learning the skills to connect medical devices also has benefits.

“Most of my data/networking skills have been learned via on-the-job training. Nothing is quite as affective as trial by fire. When and where I started my career; not much emphasis was put on networking. Knowing what I do now, I encourage our new technicians to see and do as much as possible with networking,” Haschke says.

Bryant agrees and adds that certifications are becoming a prerequisite for the field.

“All HTM professionals need A+ and NET+ to be able to interact with the IT groups and speak at their level in order to get the needed connectivity issues resolved. I do it on a weekly basis. The ways to get the certifications are varied, but I recently learned about the Onward2Opportunity program for military and veterans that provides certification training at no cost – pretty sweet,” Bryant says.

“So, there is a nod to that program and a way to share a bit of insight,” Bryant adds.

The additional credentials may not be

called for in all situations.

“Network certifications can definitely bolster someone’s resume and help them be more effective when it comes to integrating medical equipment with the hospital network, but unless you, as the HTM technician, are expected to design or structure the network for medical device integration, those certifications are not essential for HTM professionals to be successful,” Harris says.

He says that there are numerous online networking courses that can be taken to educate us on the basics if that knowledge is lacking.

“I have learned quite a bit from within the IT group at my facility as it pays to ‘network’ with them too. HTM and IT continue to work closer each year as more equipment is added to the network, and they have a responsibility, just as we do, to make sure that integration is done properly,” Harris says.

He says that for HTM professionals, one of our biggest responsibilities is to document the network settings and information in our CMMS for each integrated device and understand the purpose behind the information we are documenting.

“It is also our responsibility to keep IT in the loop throughout the medical equipment installation process when network integration is expected. They should handle the in-depth networking design and layout, and we need to know how the device’s network settings are configured for future troubleshooting and situations where those settings need to be adjusted or copied to another device,” Harris says.

“I am not discounting the benefits of network certifications, and anybody who thinks that will help to advance their HTM career should go for it. I simply think that basic networking courses can likely provide most HTM professionals with the amount of knowledge required to be successful in the future of networked medical equipment,” Harris adds.

In the end, it is a new day in HTM and networking knowledge, in any form, is a value-added proposition. Add to that social networking skills and the sky is the limit for motivated biomeds.

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EXPERT ADVICE

BY KATHLEEN FURORE

CAREER CENTER

Should you Bring up your Spouse’s Job Search During an Interview?

BY KATHLEEN FURORE

H

ow can spouses balance their careers? It’s a topic that came to mind when a friend’s successful, recently married daughter started looking for a new job. If she is offered a position somewhere far from the couple’s current home, would it be appropriate for her to mention her husband (who is equally successful and in a similar profession) and ask if there are any openings for him, as well?

Even the recruiting pros I contacted were a little stumped by that question!

As executive recruiter Chris Gardner, co-founder and CEO of Artemis Consultants says, “This is an interesting topic. It makes me pause and think.”

And Nancy Halpern, a New York City-based career and executive coach with 20 years’ experience working with leaders at all levels and across industries says, simply, “It depends.

“Is she senior enough to feel comfortable asking that question? Is the company large enough that they would have multiple openings or perhaps they’re in a growth mode where they’re aggressively hiring?”

Halpern asks. “It’s better not to pitch yourself as a ‘package deal,’ but rather inquire what the local job market is like and see if the employer is willing to offer job search services to him as part

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

of her relocation package.”

Bringing up a spouse’s job hunt isn’t unheard of, but Gardner stresses that is does pose risks – including appearing as if you’re looking for that “package deal” Halpern mentions.

“Depending on how you broach the subject, it could be an effective way to help your spouse network. However, it’s doubtful I would recommend this approach,” says Gardner. “Maybe the employer would find you less attractive of a candidate because your interest in them could be directly related to your spouse’s ability to find new employment in the same city. It complicates things for the company; if they have two equally qualified candidates, they’ll most likely choose the one that has the fewest contingencies tied to them.

He also points out that many large companies have nepotism clauses that prohibit them from employing spouses and family members.

“I think most people in loving relationships are willing to do anything they can to help their loved one find a job they’re passionate about. ‘Help’ being the operative word,” he continues. “Personally, I would appreciate the help and support, but it would be important to me that I not ride my spouse’s coattail.”

If the ultimate decision is to try to negotiate a position for your spouse during an out-of-area job search,

KATHLEEN FURORE

Gardner says clarifying that your interest in the position is independent of the company’s ability to help your spouse find a position is key.

Kathleen Furore is a Chicago-based writer and editor who has covered personal finance and other business-related topics for a variety of trade and consumer publications. You can email her your career questions at kfurore@yahoo.com.

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EXPERT ADVICE

BY JOSEPH HABOVICK

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ollowing are five key questions to ask about MRI coil repair processes to help you make wise, informed decisions that you, your team and your patients can live with.

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mechanical parts used in the repair? Are they sourced from soft molding and machining or 3D printing?

While 3D printing can increase speed and accessibility, this method may not always last as long as molding and machining. Its critical to know how parts are sourced for your repairs as they can affect the longevity, cost of ownership and future downtime.

4. INSPECTION PROCESSES Question: Does the supplier tear apart the cable or use a less or non-invasive method to inspect the quality and condition of each coil?

You should insist on procedures such as those used at the Innovatus MRI Center of Excellence that use an X-ray device to view cabling structures and avoid unnecessary disassembly which can increase the risk of other failures and extend the time for triage and repair.

5. QUALIFICATIONS Question: What experience, research and processes are behind the repair?

This is perhaps the biggest difference in suppliers. Do the technicians have decades of experience vs. basic skills, and what testing processes, protocols and simulators are used for quality assurance regarding the repair? With more than 20 years of manufacturing experience and research to identify best-in-class methodology and testing, Innovatus applies some of the most proven processes available.

More details about these issues and

JOSEPH HABOVICK Vice President of MRI for Innovatus Imaging MRI Center of Excellence

other considerations for optimizing MRI repair outcomes for your inventory can be found in our report titled “Why Centers of Excellence for Imaging Device Repairs Matter,” listed under resources at www.innovatusimaging.com.

Joseph Habovick is Vice President of MRI for Innovatus Imaging MRI Center of Excellence in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In this role, he advances programs and processes for elevating the sustainability and efficiencies of coil repair processes and programs. His expertise spans more than 20 years in medical device repair and management and includes experience as a clinical professional in radiation oncology. He can be reached at joseph.habovick@innovatusimaging.com.

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EXPERT ADVICE

BY STEVEN J. YELTON

THE FUTURE

Proposing Additional Help for HTM Educational Programs

BY STEVEN J. YELTON

I

’ve written before that AAMI is the lead society within the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (TAC-ABET). In this role, AAMI helps guide TAC-ABET with items related to the criteria used for accrediting college healthcare technology management (HTM) and similarly named programs.

These could be associate or bachelor degree programs. I serve as the chair of AAMI’s Healthcare Technology Accreditation Committee (HTAC). The HTAC makes recommendations for accrediting these healthcare engineering technology (currently referred to by TAC-ABET as bioengineering technology) programs.

The HTAC is comprised of educators and industry personnel and recently completed its second annual meeting.

As an update, TAC-ABET has just approved AAMI’s first criteria for HTM Engineering Technology programs.

TAC-ABET requires that any changes go out for “public comment” from other professional organizations within TAC-ABET to provide guidance and approval on any proposed changes to HTM programs. We were given some input to our criteria and ultimately attained approval. Until this time, the criteria used for evaluating programs were from the prior lead society. We were very proud to have this criteria approved as we feel it provides a needed update. Programs evaluated in the future will be evaluated under these criteria provided by AAMI.

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The HTAC committee in conjunction with AAMI’s various departments has been working to support healthcare engineering technology and similarly named programs with support, discounted AAMI memberships for students and educators, resource materials and related items.

The HTAC committee understands that TAC-ABET is a lofty goal for most programs and many do not have the desire or means to attain this accreditation. That doesn’t mean that these aren’t great programs. Also, these programs want and need direction in improving their curriculums, laboratory experiences, etc. The TAC-ABET criteria for HTM programs are currently available for anyone who wants to use it. The HTAC committee thought that there might be a way that we could help programs that have no desire to attain ABET accreditation and those who may want accreditation in the future, but would like a minimum standard that they could attain.

With this in mind, using criteria from TAC-ABET and the core competencies document produced by AAMI, we are working to produce guidance documents that educational programs could use to stay up to date on what is needed by their constituents and also provide a mechanism for sharing that information. AAMI is also exploring the possibility of incorporating published content such as the core competencies into future AAMI standards documents. Further, the AAMI Educators Discussion Group

STEVEN J. YELTON, P.E., CHTM

provides discussions about relevant education related topics and libraries of helpful documents. These documents include curriculums, laboratory exercises as well as related ideas such as how to promote your program.

We continue to have the goal of helping educators as well as employers; students and prospective students evaluate programs. We currently have guidance on curriculum items for two-year associate degree programs and would like to develop more for fouryear bachelor degree programs.

In addition to curriculum, guidance is provided within TAC-ABET documents for items that contribute to make a very good program. One item, to which those of you reading this column may contribute, is an industry advisory committee (IAD). I often hear the complaint that “My local program does not stay up with the current needs of the field or is working with an antiquated idea of the needs of the field.”

“Their program needs help.” In that instance, I find that the program in question may not be using their IAD effectively. I ask educators to engage your IAD. Those in the field please get involved in an advisory role with your local college programs. You may be involved as an advisor, a co-operative education or internship employer or maybe an employer who hires

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EXPERT ADVICE

graduates. College programs need and will welcome your expertise and involvement.

The HTAC is also looking at ways to be able to provide a base-level credential signifying that an HTM program meets minimum criteria based on nationwide vetting for what constitutes a quality program. These criteria would be designed to be at a much lower level and rigor than the criteria required for TAC-ABET accreditation and act as an entry point for programs.

This could be helpful for all programs and could lead those programs that may later pursue the more advanced TAC-ABET accreditation. There would also be guidance documents provided

by AAMI and TAC-ABET such as the core competencies that would provide up to date criteria for curriculum.

The HTAC will be reaching out to the educational community in the near future as we pursue these and other ideas to improve HTM education.

Steven J. Yelton, P.E., CHTM; is a senior HTM engineer for The Christ Hospital Health Network in Cincinnati, Ohio and is a professor at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College where he teaches biomedical instrumentation courses. He is the chair-elect of AAMI’s board of directors, chair of the AAMI Foundation board of directors, past chair of AAMI’s Technology Management Council (TMC), chair of AAMI’s HTAC Committee and is a member of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), board of delegates.

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JANUARY 2019

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EXPERT ADVICE

BY BEN PERSON

SPONSORED BY:

H T M RE P O R TI N G AN D AN ALY TICS

INFORMATION IS THE NEW CURRENCY

Addressing the Leading Legacy CMMS Deficiency

BY BEN PERSON

DATA VS. INFORMATION The world tends to use “data” and “information” interchangeably, a misconception that compounds the everyday challenges of HTM and other professionals. A list of all the infusion pumps and their maintenance histories in a health care facility is data; a graphical analysis isolating the specific models with the highest maintenance costs is information. A table with the installation dates and expected operational lifetimes of all blood pressure monitors is data. A trend chart illustrating the quarterly end-of-life replacement costs is information. Data is an orderly collection of bits and bytes; information is insight that yields smart business decisions, assures operational uptime and optimizes budgets.

Rather than interchanging “data” and “information,” the HTM community would be better served by swapping “information” and “insight” for “information” and “analytics.”

HTM professionals are intimately familiar with the deficiencies in legacy CMMS systems, but most – especially those with management and regulatory reporting responsibility – would agree that none of those shortcomings is as glaring as their reporting capabilities.

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BEN PERSON Nuvolo, VP of Product Marketing

DATA GOVERNANCE Everyone is familiar with the phrase “garbage in - garbage out.” Bad data yields bad information. Intelligent decision-making is dependent on accurate information, which is a function of data accuracy. Regrettably, legacy CMMS often rely on manually entered and free text input sources, inviting errors when data is being input.

Getting the input data wrong eliminates all hope of useful information output.

Technicians use paper to record data and manually enter it into a legacy system. Alternatively, customers will export data from one software package to another with an intermediary spreadsheet or CSV file. These are both classic examples of practices that can easily contaminate data.

Modern HTM solutions put a smart mobile device in the hands of the technician at the point of service. These advances eliminate paper-based work orders and utilize drop down lists to minimize free text data input. These modern systems also provide a single platform solution – with an accompanying unified database and single system of record. These systems are then seamlessly connected as a trusted source of truth for data standards. ECRI’s Unique Medical Device Naming Standard (UMDNS), FDA’s Unique Device Identifier (UDI) and Flexera Technopedia are just a few examples.

Modern HTM solutions provide the tools to collect data accurately and in real-time. These platforms are delivered with the configurability needed to assure that all data required is easily collected in a uniform manner. They also provide the ability to adapt when data collection requirements change over time in response to business and regulatory requirements. It is also important to note that the forms technicians use on their smart mobile devices can be easily modified to add new fields, make field inputs mandatory or bound field inputs to choice lists and data tables to prevent meaningless or obviously erroneous inputs.

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EXPERT ADVICE

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Mobile device capability, single database and configurable input forms all assure that accurate data is captured at the service source. Clean data input that is the first crucial step in ensuring reporting integrity.

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

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CONCLUSION Easily extracting insights from accurate HTM data is no longer a theoretical concept. Today’s modern HTM software solutions provide these capabilities out-of-the-box and without expensive intervention from the HTM software vendors themselves. HTM teams, now with modern tools at their disposal, can make smarter decisions, easily address regulatory requirements and eliminate non-value-added work. The winner here is the health care organization and the patients they serve.

Ben Person is the vice president of product marketing at Nuvolo, a modern HTM software provider. Nuvolo invites readers to view an on-demand webinar that discusses the Nuvolo HTM solution in detail at nuvolo.com.

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CONFIGURABLE REPORTING Experienced software product managers will attest that no matter how many out-of-the-box reports, graphics and analytics are generated by an application, customers will generally need to consume the data differently.

Data fields are endless. Each customer’s environment is different. Each user has different needs and priorities. While some commonalities will exist, each organization is subject to a unique set of regulatory and compliance requirements that drive varied reporting needs.

The reality of the modern HTM reporting environment is problematic for legacy CMMS. Limited to only a select group of basic reports, extracting data and folding it into consumable outputs often requires the use of Excel or the intervention of software development and reporting teams. By the time a requested report is delivered by the CMMS vendor, the requirement driving that report can change, rendering the delivered report useless. In today’s modern HTM environment, the software vendor is removed from the report-building loop. End users can generate their own reports easily and can literally use any data field in any report.

Data is useless unless it can be translated into information. Modern HTM software platforms allow managers and executives to consume data in nearly infinite combinations, maximizing value and enabling datadriven, intelligent decision-making.

april 11-13, 2019

REPORTING AND COMPLIANCE As every HTM professional who has endured an audit can attest that compliance is not about what you’ve done … but rather what you can prove.

This harsh reality drives significant workload and risk to the organization when the Joint Commission or DNV asks for reports that confirms adherence to specified procedures and processes.

Disparate paper records, multiple PROOF APPROVED CHANGES NEEDED spreadsheets and other information is education networking exhibits fun tediously assembled and used to satisfy CLIENT SIGN–OFF: unpredictable regulator requests.

REGIST E R NOW PLEASE CONFIRM teams THAT THE Already resource-constrained are FOLLOWING ARE CORRECT PHONE NUMBER WEBSITE ADDRESS SPELLING stretched even LOGO further during these periodic fire drills.

Modern HTM leaders are replacing TRIM 2.25” this chaotic process with reports that can literally be shown by the HTM team at the request of regulators in real-time. Not only does this approach instill confidence in the regulators, but also frees the HTM team to continue its important work.

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EXPERT ADVICE

BY JIM FEDELE

THE OTHER SIDE

BY JIM FEDELE

I

t is time to mark another year off the books. I can hardly believe that 2018 is over. As I reflect on this past year’s events, I wonder if progress was made, if we lost ground or is it something in between.

My view of the industry is that not a lot of progress was made. The same battles were fought, the same complaints were voiced and the industry, as a whole, seems to continue in a state of flux. For instance, Relocatable Power Taps (RPTs) seem to be a hot topic again. We have taken a step back in allowing or not allowing these to be used in hospitals, even though there isn’t clear data regarding the problems they cause.

At the latest conferences, I heard technicians who feel underappreciated and under paid. They feel misunderstood by the administration and helpless to control their own destinies. I have always felt that we are participants in our own lives. We have the power to change it and control how we respond. We can give more than what is expected, we can promote ourselves every day and never be satisfied by just doing our assigned job.

OEMs continue to do everything in their power to make our jobs harder.

They continue to mislead our customers, hiding behind words like “patient safety” or “proprietary information” when, in my opinion, it is all about money. When you think about how much they charge for parts and labor, it is clear that they only have their own

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

interests at heart. It seems new angles and spins are created daily to prevent us from servicing equipment. As medical equipment evolves into PC-based systems, we are challenged on two fronts; the first is IT and security management at times impeding our ability to serve our customers and the OEMs charging for software licensing and maintenance fees without any fear of competition. These two issues alone require us to ensure we are part of every medical equipment purchase decision.

Because without us our customer would not necessarily think (or remember) all that needs to be planned before cutting a purchase order.

I do feel that, as an industry, we continue to miss one important customer – the patient. We seem to be consumed with what we should call ourselves, or how to get respect, or questioning certification. I do not hear anyone talking about the patient care aspect of our business (unless you are asking them to stop performing safety inspections on a pulse oximeter, but that is a story for another day.) Nobody suggests that we must be stewards of safety and equipment performance so our most important customer is always served. I feel that if we focused more on the patient and on getting him/her the care they need in the safest and best possible manner, then our advocacy would not be ignored. I guess my disappointment is that in this game of winners and losers the patient ultimately is the loser and he/ she isn’t even playing the game.

My challenge to all for 2019 is to rethink your position from the patient’s

JIM FEDELE, CBET Director of Clinical Engineering for Susquehanna Health Systems

point of view. Try aligning your vision and values to include patient care and safety. Keep those values in mind and maybe collectively we can make our voices heard and through our actions take control of the industry and move it forward for our customers and for the patients. We must get out and do more than just fix stuff. It means learning and understanding your facility’s strategic plan and helping them understand how medical equipment decisions directly impact that plan. It means putting down the screwdriver and using analytical skills in a new way that benefits everyone. At the end of the day, your facility can hire anyone to just fix stuff, but having an in-house consultant at their beck and call will certainly improve your perceived worth.

Thank you all for your support this past year and have a wonderful new year!

Jim Fedele, CBET, is the director of clinical engineering for Susquehanna Health Systems in Williamsport, PA. He can be reached for questions and/or comments via email at info@mdpublishing.com.

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BY MANNY ROMAN

ROMAN REVIEW Be Patient Now!

MANNY ROMAN, CRES AMSP Business Operation Manager

BY MANNY ROMAN

E

very month I patiently wait for the reminder from the editor that my column is nearly overdue. I then go into a research frenzy in the attempt to track down a topic on which I can elaborate with great wisdom and wit. I then settle on the over analyzed topics of personal development, communication and leadership. Since few of you actually stop to read my words, I am safe repeating and modifying old stuff. However, today I will expound on the virtue of patience. This is a subject relatively unknown to me so I actually had to conduct some research.

Apparently a long time ago people were much more patient by necessity. Without Internet and today’s fast modes of travel and communication, people had to wait a very long time for the Pony Express and the proverbial slow boat. They also had to wait for the chickens to hatch and grow before making chicken soup.

Today, we have instant gratification.

We do hate to wait in line for that special cup of grande espresso cappuccino latte macchiato, however.

We have become so impatient that even a small amount of time causes irritation and the attendant higher blood pressure.

I myself am considering upgrading my Internet to the mega gigablast option so that I no longer have to wait the tenth of

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

a second to download my electronic copy of TechNation.

So, how can we become more patient and supposedly better adjusted as a result? Through researching my slow Internet, I found that there are tricks that can be implemented to enhance your patience.

Studies published in the Journal of Psychological Science, suggest that the secret to happiness is to wait for it, as long as the wait is for an experience.

You see experiences will make you happier than things will. For example, spending money on a vacation makes you happier than buying a bunch of things. And, you will be happier with the expectation while you are waiting to go on that vacation.

So practice waiting since waiting makes you happier than the instant gratification, in the long term. Begin with small items like wait to taste that coffee for a couple of minutes, or don’t go see that movie until tomorrow. The small amount of discomfort will add to the pleasure of the experience as well as train you to be more patient.

Apparently gratitude is also a way to enhance patience, and happiness, because it helps self-control and re-wires the brain to be more optimistic. A gratitude exercise is to write three things you are grateful for in a daily journal.

Another way to enhance your ability to be more patient is to breathe. Deep

breathing will help calm the mind and body and soothe the impatience of traffic or that one guy who makes us want to run away.

You can also just embrace the discomfort of impatience. Things will happen to take you outside your comfort zone and realizing that you must accept the discomfort in order to be comfortable with it.

You can stop doing those tasks that are not important. We all have a list of items that we think have to be done. If you look closely, the list will include things that take time and yet are neither urgent nor important. Work on the things that are urgent and important first and ignore those that just waste time.

We all have those special items that push us into impatience. Make a list of these items and resolve to accept, delete or postpone them so you can remain focused. There really is no such thing as multitasking, only switch tasking which is a major cause of the frustration and impatience that things did not get done on time.

In the end, patience is not so much a virtue as a skill. A skill can be learned through diligent work and study. I have perfected patience to the level that my motto is, “Always leave for tomorrow what you don’t want to do today.

Tomorrow, today will be yesterday, so why worry about the past.”

JANUARY 2019

TECHNATION

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BREAKROOM

STAFF REPORT

DID YOU KNOW?

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BREAKROOM

THE VAULT

D

you consider yourself a history buff? Are you widely regarded among coworkers as an equipment aficionado? Here is your o chance to prove it! Check out “The Vault” photo. Tell us what this medical device is and earn bragging rights. Each person who submits a correct answer will be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card. To submit your answer, visit 1TechNation.com/vault-january-2019. Good luck!

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SUBMIT A PHOTO Send a photo of an old medical device to editor@mdpublishing. com and you could win a $25 Amazon gift card courtesy of TechNation!

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BREAKROOM

BULLETIN BOARD

A

n online resource where medical equipment professionals can find all the information needed to help them be more successful! The easy to navigate Bulletin Board gives you access to informative blogs, expos and events, continuing education opportunities, and a job board. Visit www.MedWrench.com/BulletinBoard to find out more about this resource.

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Visit www.MedWrench.c om/BulletinBoard for m ore details and to register for these upcoming classes .

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More info on how to apply here: http://bit.ly/2PFF17t

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RESUME TIPS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A HIRING MANAGER Tony Cody, Technology Management Director at Banner Health and a MedWrench Guru, provided some information on resumes for those of us looking for a new opportunity in the biomedical equipment industry.

Below are a few things that he looks for when deciding on what candidates are best to bring in for interviews.

Format I look at it being neat and organized.

Grammar I don’t expect it to be written as if you were an English major, but I would like to see it written at a level that shows clear and concise wording. If you can write well on your resume, you can write well in your documentatio n.

Education I look for specific BMET training, but electroni cs and mechanical can sometimes be considered. Military is a plus.

Read the full blog here: www.medwrench.com/b

ulletin-board/

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Avoid Dangerous Device Hazards

See what’s on the list ECRI.org/2019hazards

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Injector Support and Service 888-667-1062 • www.injectorsupport.com

37

D.A. Surgical 800-261-9953 • www.da-surgical.com

32

P

Retrieve Medical Equipment 330-963-0277 • retrievemedicalequipment.com/

43

Diversified 844-767-2738 • www.diversifiedus.com

1415

P

RSTI 800-229-7784 • www.rsti-training.com

INS

P P P

Doctors Equipment Repair 458-205-8438 • doctorsequipmentrepair.com

28

P P

Tri-Imaging Solutions 855-401-4888 • www.triimaging.com

33

P P P

InterMed Group 386-462-5220 • www.intermed1.com

62

P P P

Contrast Media Injectors

ISS Solutions 800-752-2290 • ISSsolutions.com

47

P P

Injector Support and Service 888-667-1062 • www.injectorsupport.com

37

P P

Master Medical Equipment 866-468-9558 • masterfitmedical.com

59

Maull Biomedical Training 440-724-7511 • maullbiomedicaltraining.com

62

P

Multimedical Systems 888-532-8056 • multimedicalsystems.com

6

P

PRN/ Physician's Resource Network 508-679-6185 • www.prnwebsite.com

21

P P

InterMed Group 386-462-5220 • www.intermed1.com

62

P P P

RepairMED 855-813-8100 • www.repairmed.net

47

P P

Diagnostic Imaging

Retrieve Medical Equipment 330-963-0277 • retrievemedicalequipment.com/

43

Avante Health Solutions avantehs.com

2

P P

Technical Life Care Medical Co. 800-989-8949 • www.technicallifecare.com

26

Avante Ultrasound 800-958-9986 • avantehs.com/ultrasound

29

P P

InterMed Group 386-462-5220 • www.intermed1.com

62

P P P

Retrieve Medical Equipment 330-963-0277 • retrievemedicalequipment.com/

43

72

TECHNATION

JANUARY 2019

P P

Cyber Security

WWW.1TECHNATION.COM

TRAINING

Multimedical Systems 888-532-8056 • multimedicalsystems.com

6

P

PRN/ Physician's Resource Network 508-679-6185 • www.prnwebsite.com

21

P P

Ozark Biomedical 800-457-7576 • www.ozarkbiomedical.com

Multimedical Systems 888-532-8056 • multimedicalsystems.com

6

P

General 61

Hand Switches 30

P P

Infection Control

37

P P

4

P P

Mammography Ampronix, Inc. 800-400-7972 • www.ampronix.com RSTI 800-229-7784 • www.rsti-training.com

Fetal Monitoring

Healthmark Industries 800-521-6224 • HMARK.COM

SERVICE

64

inRayParts.com 417-597-4702 • www.inrayparts.com

PARTS

Laboratory

Healthmark Industries 800-521-6224 • HMARK.COM

ALCO Sales & Service Co. 800-323-4282 • www.alcosales.com

Company Info

AD PAGE

Endoscopy

TRAINING

SERVICE

PARTS

AD PAGE

Company Info

INS

P P P

Monitors/CRTs Ampronix, Inc. 800-400-7972 • www.ampronix.com

4

P P

BMES 888-828-2637 • www.bmesco.com

11

P

Integrity Biomedical Services 877-789-9903 • www.integritybiomed.com

57

P P

Select BioMedical 866-559-3500 • www.selectpos.com

30

P

USOC Bio-Medical Services 855-888-8762 • www.usocmedical.com

7

P P

MRI

64

Infusion Pumps

Innovatus Imaging 844-687-5100 • innovatusimaging.com

8 27

P P P

INS

P

AIV 888-656-0755 • aiv-inc.com

25

P P

PartsSource 877-497-6412 • partssource.com/shop

Elite Biomedical Solutions 855-291-6701 • elitebiomedicalsolutions.

3

P P

PACS

Master Medical Equipment 866-468-9558 • masterfitmedical.com

59

P P

RSTI 800-229-7784 • www.rsti-training.com

Multimedical Systems 888-532-8056 • multimedicalsystems.com

6

P

Infusion Therapy

Patient Monitoring AIV 888-656-0755 • aiv-inc.com

25

P P

AIV 888-656-0755 • aiv-inc.com

25

P P

Ampronix, Inc. 800-400-7972 • www.ampronix.com

4

P P

Elite Biomedical Solutions 855-291-6701 • elitebiomedicalsolutions.com

3

P P

Avante Health Solutions • avantehs.com

2

P P

Master Medical Equipment 866-468-9558 • masterfitmedical.com

59

P P

BETA Biomed Services 800-315-7551 • www.betabiomed.com/

48

P P

RepairMED 855-813-8100 • www.repairmed.net

47

BMES 888-828-2637 • www.bmesco.com

11

P P

Select BioMedical 866-559-3500 • www.selectpos.com

30

P

Integrity Biomedical Services 877-789-9903 • www.integritybiomed.com

57

P P

USOC Bio-Medical Services 855-888-8762 • www.usocmedical.com

7

P P

Jet Medical Electronics Inc 714-937-0809 • www.jetmedical.com

21

P P

Master Medical Equipment 866-468-9558 • masterfitmedical.com

59

P P

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

JANUARY 2019

TECHNATION

73

SERVICE INDEX CONTINUED PartsSource 877-497-6412 • partssource.com/shop

27

P

Repair

PRN/ Physician's Resource Network 508-679-6185 • www.prnwebsite.com

21

P P

ALCO Sales & Service Co. 800-323-4282 • www.alcosales.com

61

RepairMED 855-813-8100 • www.repairmed.net

47

P P

Avante Patient Monitoring 800-449-5328 • avantehs.com/monitoring

54

P P

Southeastern Biomedical, Inc 828-396-6010 • sebiomedical.com/

49

P P

Avante Ultrasound 800-958-9986 • avantehs.com/ultrasound

29

P P

Southwestern Biomedical Electronics, Inc. 800-880-7231 • www.swbiomed.com/

40

P P

Elite Biomedical Solutions 855-291-6701 • elitebiomedicalsolutions.com

3

P P

USOC Bio-Medical Services 855-888-8762 • www.usocmedical.com

7

P P

ISS Solutions 800-752-2290 • ISSsolutions.com

47

P

Jet Medical Electronics Inc 714-937-0809 • www.jetmedical.com

21

P P

Patient Monitors Avante Patient Monitoring 800-449-5328 • avantehs.com/monitoring

54

P P

Replacement Parts

Doctors Equipment Repair 458-205-8438 • doctorsequipmentrepair.com

28

P P

Elite Biomedical Solutions 855-291-6701 • elitebiomedicalsolutions.com

3

P P

Engineering Services, KCS Inc 888-364-7782x11 • www.eng-services.com

22

P

75

P

Portable X-ray inRayParts.com 417-597-4702 • www.inrayparts.com

30

P P

Interpower 800-662-2290 • www.interpower.com

Respiratory A.M. Bickford 800-795-3062 • www.ambickford.com

Power System Components 79

P

Surgical Healthmark Industries 800-521-6224 • HMARK.COM

Radiology Ampronix, Inc. 800-400-7972 • www.ampronix.com RSTI 800-229-7784 • www.rsti-training.com

4 INS

Telemetry

P P P

AIV 888-656-0755 • aiv-inc.com

25

P P

Avante Patient Monitoring 800-449-5328 • avantehs.com/monitoring

54

P P

BMES 888-828-2637 • www.bmesco.com

11

P P

Elite Biomedical Solutions 855-291-6701 • elitebiomedicalsolutions.com

3

P P

Integrity Biomedical Services 877-789-9903 • www.integritybiomed.com

57

P P

Master Medical Equipment 866-468-9558 • masterfitmedical.com

59

P P

Multimedical Systems 888-532-8056 • multimedicalsystems.com

6

P

57

Refurbish AIV 888-656-0755 • aiv-inc.com

64

P P

Recruiting Stephens International Recruiting Inc. 870-431-5485 • www.bmets-usa.com/

25

Rental/Leasing Avante Health Solutions • avantehs.com

2

Elite Biomedical Solutions 855-291-6701 • elitebiomedicalsolutions.com

3

P

RepairMED 855-813-8100 • www.repairmed.net

47

P P

Technical Life Care Medical Co. 800-989-8949 • www.technicallifecare.com

26

P

Southwestern Biomedical Electronics, Inc. 800-880-7231 • www.swbiomed.com/

40

P P

USOC Bio-Medical Services 855-888-8762 • www.usocmedical.com

7

P P

74

TECHNATION

JANUARY 2019

TRAINING

SERVICE

PARTS

Company Info

AD PAGE

TRAINING

SERVICE

PARTS

AD PAGE

Company Info

WWW.1TECHNATION.COM

TRAINING

SERVICE

PARTS

Test Equipment

Company Info

AD PAGE

TRAINING

SERVICE

PARTS

AD PAGE

Company Info

Ultrasound

A.M. Bickford 800-795-3062 • www.ambickford.com

75

BC Group International, Inc 314-638-3800 • www.BCGroupStore.com

80

PRN/ Physician's Resource Network 508-679-6185 • www.prnwebsite.com

21

Pronk Technologies, Inc. 800-609-9802 • www.pronktech.com

5

Southeastern Biomedical, Inc 828-396-6010 • sebiomedical.com/

49

Ampronix, Inc. 800-400-7972 • www.ampronix.com

4

P P

P P

Avante Health Solutions • avantehs.com

2

P P

P P

Avante Ultrasound 800-958-9986 • avantehs.com/ultrasound

29

P P

Innovatus Imaging 844-687-5100 • innovatusimaging.com

8

ISS Solutions 800-752-2290 • ISSsolutions.com

47

Retrieve Medical Equipment 330-963-0277 • retrievemedicalequipment.com/

43

P P

Training

P

ECRI Institute 1-610-825-6000. • www.ecri.org

70

P

X-Ray

RSTI 800-229-7784 • www.rsti-training.com

INS

P

Engineering Services, KCS Inc 888-364-7782x11 • www.eng-services.com

22

Tri-Imaging Solutions 855-401-4888 • www.triimaging.com

33

P

Innovatus Imaging 844-687-5100 • innovatusimaging.com

8

Retrieve Medical Equipment 330-963-0277 • retrievemedicalequipment.com/

43

RSTI 800-229-7784 • www.rsti-training.com

INS

P P P

Tri-Imaging Solutions 855-401-4888 • www.triimaging.com

33

P P P

Tubes/Bulbs Tri-Imaging Solutions 855-401-4888 • www.triimaging.com

33

P P

P

The evolution of calibration.

evolution of calibration.

TheThe evolution of calibration.

It's time to upgrade…

It'supgrade… time upgrade… totothe FI-8000P It's time to

to the FI-8000P the Now FI-8000P The FI-21 isto extinct. is the time to evolve to the NEW Riken FI-8000P Portable The FI-21 is the extinct.

The FI-21 is extinct.

Now is timeNow to is the time to Gas Indicator. evolve to the NEW Riken FI-8000P Portable evolve to the NEW Riken FI-8000P Portable

Gas Indicator.

Indicator.

• 40 years of AMGas Bickford and Riken Keiki working together • 40 years of AM Bickford and Riken Keikiindicators working together • 40•years AM Bickford and Riken Keiki working together Vastof experience calibrating all Riken anesthetic • Vast experience calibrating all Riken anesthetic indicators • Vast experience calibrating Riken anesthetic indicators • Quick turnaround forall calibration service Riken FI-8000P • Quick turnaround for calibration service • Quick turnaround for calibration service Riken FI-21 • NIST Certification—certified accurate, achieving the highest Riken FI-8000P Riken FI-8000P Riken FI-21 Riken FI-21 • NIST Certification—certified accurate, achieving the highest • NISTpossible Certification—certified accurate, achieving theproductivity highest (discontinued) level of measurement quality and (discontinued) (discontinued) level of measurement quality and productivity possible level of possible measurement quality and productivity

Call 800-795-3062 or email sales@ambickford.com.

Call 800-795-3062 or email sales@ambickford.com.

Call 800-795-3062 or email sales@ambickford.com.

800-795-3062 800-795-3062 800-795-3062 ambickford.com ambickford.com ambickford.com ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

JANUARY 2019

TECHNATION

75

expand your knowledge and earn CEUs

right from your desk!

Right information, right format, right time.

Webinar Wednesdays are all-right!

Webinar Wednesday series is a great way to expand your education and earn CEUs in a convenient format.

- D. Minke, BMET

- C. Nieland, Operations Manager

View upcoming webinars at webinarwednesday.live!

ALPHABETICAL INDEX A.M. Bickford…………………………

75

Elite Biomedical Solutions……………… 3

PartsSource…………………………

27

AIV……………………………………

25

Engineering Services, KCS Inc………

22

PRN/ Physician’s Resource Network… 21

ALCO Sales & Service Co.……………

61

Healthmark Industries………………

64

Pronk Technologies, Inc. ……………… 5

Ampronix, Inc.…………………………… 4

Injector Support and Service…………

37

RepairMED……………………………

47

Avante Health Solutions………………… 2

Innovatus Imaging……………………… 8

Retrieve Medical Equipment …………

43

Avante Patient Monitoring……………

54

inRayParts.com………………………

30

RSTI…………………………………… INS

Avante Ultrasound……………………

29

Integrity Biomedical Services…………

57

Select BioMedical……………………

30

BC Group International, Inc…………

80

InterMed Group………………………

62

Southeastern Biomedical, Inc………

49

BETA Biomed Services………………

48

Interpower……………………………

79

Southwestern Biomedical Electronics,

BMES…………………………………

11

ISS Solutions…………………………

47

Inc.……………………………………

Crothall Healthcare Technology Solutions…

39 Jet NEEDED Medical Electronics Inc…………

PROOF APPROVED CHANGES

21

Stephens International Recruiting Inc.… 57

40

PROOF SHEET

32

Master Medical Equipment…………

59

Technical Life Care Medical Co.………

26

Diversified………………………… 14-15

Maull Biomedical Training……………

62

Tri-Imaging Solutions…………………

33

D.A. Surgical…………………………

CLIENT SIGN–OFF:

PLEASE CONFIRM THAT THE FOLLOWING ARE CORRECT 28 Multimedical Systems………………… 6 LOGO PHONE NUMBER WEBSITE ADDRESS

Doctors Equipment Repair……………

ECRI Institute…………………………

70

Ozark Biomedical……………………

37

USOC Bio-Medical Services…………… 7

SPELLING

GRAMMAR

Webinar Wednesday…………………

76

WIDTH 7”

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ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

JANUARY 2019

TECHNATION

77

BREAKROOM

PARTING SHOT

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand.

The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”

– ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

78

TECHNATION

JANUARY 2019

WWW.1TECHNATION.COM

Secure Your

Connection Secure Connections Are Essential The premier supplier of power system components worldwide, Interpower® presents an innovation of safety and security with Interpower Connector Locks.

To help prevent accidental power interruptions, secure your cord set to a power inlet or outlet with the new Interpower Connector Locks. This system provides the security and stability necessary to help protect your equipment in numerous applications, including medical and information technology.

This patent-pending design is available in two different versions and does not require tools for use. The Interpower Connector Locks can retain Interpower’s IEC 60320 C13/C14 and Sheet E/Sheet F combinations, along with C15/C16 and C17/C18 combinations. While built specifically for Interpower connectors, including angled models, the Interpower Connector Lock may also secure a variety of other brands.

Before selecting your connector components, you should consult the appropriate medical equipment standards for connection security requirements.

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NEW AA-8000 Anesthetic A g e n t A n a ly z e r The AA-8000 is the latest in portable anesthetic agent analyzers.

It was designed to meet the demand for a small, easy to use unit with high reliability and accuracy. Utilizing proprietary stateof-the-art digital NDIR (Non-Dispersive Infrared) Technology it provides a low cost, high function, microprocessorbased analyzer that is simple to operate while maintaining high performance and accuracy.

Measures 4 Anesthetic Agent Gases:  Sevoflurane  Isoflurane  Desflurane  Halothane

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AA-8000

The AA-8000 has a slanted display and adjustable handle that make it portable and accessible.

BC Group is Your One-Stop Biomed Shop BC Group Can Cover all Your Biomedical Test Equipment Needs ✓ DESIGN Our in-house engineering team designs our complete line of biomedical test equipment, including the IPA-3400 and ESU-2400H. Coming soon is the newest addition to our line of test equipment, the AA-8000 Anesthetic Agent Analyzer.

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Most BC Biomedical products are offered in a series, giving you multiple options to fit your exact needs.

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✓ MARKETPLACE Shop over 75 different product lines, including our own line, BC Biomedical, in our BC Marketplace.

You can shop online, view pricing, datasheets, videos and more at BCGroupStore.com.

Phone: 1-888-223-6763 Email: sales@bcgroupintl.com Website: www.bcgroupintl.com ISO 9001 & 13485 Certified ISO 17025 Accredited