For the past few years, AAMI, ACCE, HIMMS, and others have been working to bridge the gap between the clinical or biomedical engineering (or healthcare technology management) department and the information technology (IT) department within a hospital or hospital system. We continue to learn how valuable a relationship is between CE and IT and how […]
April 13, 2017
Jennifer DeFrancesco: Are We Missing the Big Picture with Big Data?
Healthcare technology management (HTM) prides itself on being driven by “big data.” We have more metrics and ways at making evidence-based decisions than most within the healthcare industry. Now that we are well into the era of big data, the struggle has been making it relevant. Sure, as HTM, we have settled nicely into our […]
April 11, 2017
Barbara Christe: Educators, Is this ‘Survivor’? HELP Us!
A recent article suggested that HTM-related education may be a “dying breed,” and I couldn’t agree more. That scares me! With programs closing around me and educators retiring, I know that our profession is in trouble—and I know our profession can do things to help. Picture driftwood on the beach, carefully laid out by educators, […]
April 4, 2017
Robert Sayle: Attention Biomeds! Your IT Colleague Would Like to Chat
Hey, biomed! It’s me, Bob in IT. I’m from the networking team. I know we haven’t spoken much, but I think we should. You see, we’ve got some problems we need to solve. I have ideas on what to do, but I don’t totally understand your systems, so I need your input. Let’s take security […]
March 27, 2017
Gregory Herr: HTM Must Rethink Its Role to Thrive in Modern Healthcare
As the term “healthcare technology management (HTM)” becomes more prevalent, those of us who work in this field are still challenged with what this name really means. How does one implement the goals of HTM? What are the new opportunities? Embracing HTM as a name should be the first step in a broader goal of […]
March 6, 2017
Donald Armstrong: The Lessons We Can Learn from New Employees
I was working in my shop with a new employee and one of my favorite songs came on Pandora. My colleague declared, “I hate this song.” I was stunned! How could anyone hate Hotel California? I have loved this song for 40 years. How, I wondered, could we have anything in common if we have […]
January 27, 2017
Sue Schade: Yes We Can, Women in HTM
I recently wrote a post aimed at women working in health IT and presented a HIMSS webinar about attracting the future leaders in STEM. In preparing for the webinar, I tapped the women who have received the CHIME-HIMSS CIO of the Year Award over the years. This includes the most recent recipient, Pam Arora, senior […]
January 23, 2017
Matt Baretich: Seize the Day with New TJC Requirements
By now, nearly everyone in the HTM community is aware of the substantial and unexpected changes in Joint Commission requirements for on-schedule completion of scheduled maintenance. I won’t go into the details here because recent webinars from AAMI and ECRI Institute, and one forthcoming from ACCE, are spreading the word. The gist is that we […]
January 10, 2017
Donald Armstrong: In 2017, Let’s Blow Our Horns All Year Long
I am not one for New Year’s resolutions, but I have had something on my mind for 2017. As biomeds or healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals, we do not get the credit we deserve. I don’t want that to come across in a sour grapes sort of way. I’m simply pointing out a truth. When […]
December 20, 2016
William Hyman: Precision Matters in Medical Device Terminology
I have long been concerned (some might say obsessed) with the distinction between a medical device being “approved” and one being “cleared.” In simple terms, only a Class III device that has successfully traversed the PMA process has been approved. A Class II device that has reached the market via a 510(k) Premarket Notification has […]
April 18, 2017
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