In this provocative conversation, Stephen Grimes, chief technology officer of ABM Healthcare Support Services, says healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals must rethink the entire concept of preventive maintenance or PM. Given the marked changes in medical devices—with technology that is far more sophisticated and complex—Grimes says the traditional notion of PM is antiquated, and HTM professionals must think instead of “planned or scheduled maintenance.” A continued focus on...

Increasingly seen as a crucial discipline in effective healthcare, risk management can mean different things to different people, but one common theme is that it can help create a “safe environment” for patients. Jacque Mitchell, RN, a risk manager at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, VA, and past president of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, and Salim Kai, CBET, a clinical safety specialist at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, talk about...

Enjoy an engrossing and personal conversation with a veteran imaging service engineer who talks about the challenges he faces, his relationship with third-party vendors, his advice to manufacturers, and the very best part of his job. Dustin Telford, CBET, CRES, CLES, offers insights from the frontlines on one of the most fast-changing aspects of healthcare technology: imaging.  Produced By: AAMI and Healthcare Tech Talk

Patients being treated with opioids can be at risk for respiratory depression, even resulting in death. A new national initiative spearheaded by the AAMI Foundation’s Healthcare Technology Safety Institute advocates the continuous electronic monitoring of all patients on opioids. Frank Overdyk, MD, professor of anesthesiology at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine and executive director for research at North American Partners in Anesthesia, and Tim Vanderveen, vice president of...

The notion of “systems thinking” is one that has been adopted in a number of industries, such as aviation and defense. It’s a concept that’s getting more attention in healthcare as its delivery gets more complicated, technical, and interconnected. What does systems thinking mean? How will it impact how medical devices are designed and used? What does it mean for patient safety in hospitals? A trio of experts debate these questions and others, explaining why healthcare needs to move away from...

Tubing misconnections are a significant threat to patient safety. The accidental connection of different delivery systems—through which patients receive medication, nutrients and other fluids—can result in serious patient harm, even death. A number of organizations, including AAMI, and federal regulators have banded together to work on a new initiative that aims to reduce that risk through the development and use of new small-bore connectors and standards. The FDA’s Scott Colburn and Pamela...

The Ebola outbreak has focused new attention on the crucial role of sterilization and disinfection in healthcare. Cynthia Spry, an independent clinical consultant and co-chair of AAMI’s Steam Sterilization Hospital Practices Working Group; Donna Swenson, president of Sterile Processing Quality Services, Inc., and an active member of several standards committees; and Joe Lewelling, vice president of standards development and emerging technologies at AAMI, talk about the challenges posed by...

Three veteran clinical engineers talk about how healthcare technology management (HTM) departments can move forward and make themselves even more valuable to their organizations. Frank Painter, a professor at the University of Connecticut, Matt Baretich, who runs his own consulting business, and Ted Cohen, manager of clinical engineering at the University of California Davis Medical Center, are the architects of AAMI’s new HTM Levels Guide, which promises to be a fundamental tool for every...

Hours, even days, could be spent on the subject of ventilator technology and all of its challenges, innovations, and nuances.  This episode we sit down with three industry experts to discuss the complications associated with ventilator technology innovations outpacing the standards needed for them.  The tremendous movement of ventilator technology in the last decade coupled with the void of a universal vocabulary has resulted in the absence of standardized modes and nomenclature essential to...

We are joined by Mary Logan, Pesident and CEO of the Association for the Advancement of Medcial Intrumentation (AAMI), for the launch of the new AAMI podcast series.  Mary talks with us about the decision to add a podcast series to round out AAMI's comprehensive information delivery platform, discuss some of AAMI's involvemnts and events, and in typical Mary style - through her own personal investment - bring to light a topic of significant healthcare technology management concern. Sponsored...