TechNation Magazine - December 2019

1technation.com

Vol. 10

ADVANCING THE BIOMEDICAL / HTM PROFESSIONAL

DECEMBER 2019

2020 VISION 3

Conferences Every Biomed Should Attend

12 MD Expo

Baltimore Recap

36 Ribbon Cutting

HTM Education

49 Tools of the Trade

Meriam

66 Cybersecurity

Risk vs. Vulnerability

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CONTENTS

FEATURED

52

HE ROUNDTABLE: T TEST EQUIPMENT Experts from throughout the HTM industry share their insights and opinions regarding test equipment.

We even asked them to share details about some of their newest offerings.

Participating in the roundtable article are Pronk Technologies Vice President Sales and Marketing Greg Alkire, Radcal Corporation President and CEO Curt Harkless, Datrend Systems Inc. Director of Business Development Owen Liu , BC Group International Inc. Vice President Sales and Marketing Ken O’Day and Fluke Biomedical Global Training Manager Jerry Zion.

58

020 VISION: 3 CONFERENCES 2 EVERY BIOMED SHOULD ATTEND Is professional development among your goals for 2020? If you answered yes, you should plan to attend a professional conference or three this year. There is a lot to be gained for the HTM professional who attends state, regional or national conventions, conferences or symposiums.

The opportunity for real career growth, networking and continuing education credits are just a few benefits. In this issue of TechNation, we suggest attending the AAMI Exchange, an MD Expo and a local or state association meeting.

Next month’s Feature article: ISO Certification for In-House Departments

Next month’s Roundtable article: Cybersecurity

TechNation (Vol. 10, Issue #12) December 2019 is published monthly by MD Publishing, 1015 Tyrone Rd., Ste. 120, Tyrone, GA 30290.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to TechNation at 1015 Tyrone Rd., Ste. 120, Tyrone, GA 30290.

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. ©2019

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

DECEMBER 2019

TECHNATION

9

CONTENTS

INSIDE

Departments

PUBLISHER

John M. Krieg

VICE PRESIDENT

Kristin Leavoy

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Jayme McKelvey Megan Cabot

ART DEPARTMENT Jonathan Riley

Karlee Gower

Amanda Purser EDITORIAL

John Wallace Erin Register

CONTRIBUTORS

Roger Bowles Jenifer Brown K. Richard Douglas Jim Fedele Joe Fishel Manny Roman Cindy Stephens Steven J. Yelton

DIGITAL SERVICES

Cindy Galindo Kennedy Krieg

CIRCULATION

Lisa Lisle

WEBINARS

Linda Hasluem

ACCOUNTING

Diane Costea

EDITORIAL BOARD

Manny Roman, CRES, Business Operations Manager, Association of Medical Service Providers Jim Fedele, CBET, Senior Director of Clinical Engineering, UPMC Carol Davis-Smith, CCE, FACCE, AAMIF, Owner/ President of Carol Davis-Smith & Associates, LLC David Francoeur, CBET, CHTM, Senior Vice President Marketing and Sales, Tech Know Associates - TKA Jennifer DeFrancesco, DHA, MS, CHTM, System Director, Clinical Engineering, Crothall Healthcare Rob Bundick, Director HTM & Biomedical Engineering, ProHealth Care

P.12 SPOTLIGHT p.12 MD Expo Baltimore Recap p.14 Professional of the Month: Jerry Gatewood p.18 Company Showcase: Acela Medical p.20 Department of the Month: The Aiken Regional Medical Centers HTM Department p.24 Association of the Month: The Georgia Biomedical Instrumention Society p.26 Company Showcase:TKA P.30 p.30

p.36 p.38 p.40 p.42

INDUSTRY UPDATES News and Notes: Updates from the HTM Industry Ribbon Cutting: HTM Education AAMI Update ECRI Institute Update Welcome to TechNation

P.44 p.44 p.46 p.49 p.51

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

P.62 EXPERT ADVICE p.62 Career Center p.64 20/20 Imaging Insights p.66 Cybersecurity p.68 Cyber Security Management for Clinical Devices p.71 The Future p.72 The Other Side p.77 Roman Review P.78 BREAKROOM p.78 Did You Know? p.80 The Vault p.84 Scrapbook: MD Expo Baltimore p.86 Where in the World is Ben C.? p.94 Flashback p.88 Service Index p.93 Alphabetical Index

MD Publishing / TechNation Magazine 1015 Tyrone Rd., Ste. 120, Tyrone, GA 30290 800.906.3373 • Fax: 770.632.9090 Email: info@mdpublishing.com www.mdpublishing.com

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TECHNATION

DECEMBER 2019

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SPOTLIGHT

MD EXPO BALTIMORE – ANYTHING BUT CRABBY

BY ERIN REGISTER

M

D Expo Baltimore was filled with valuable networking, beneficial education, world-class speakers, fun events and, of course, lots of crabs! Over 600 people and over 100 exhibitors were in attendance at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor.

“This MD Expo is providing takeaway points on

The conference kicked off Thursday, October 17 with a CompTIA A+ prep course, presented by Garrett Seeley of Texas State Technical College-Waco, as well as a CBET review course, presented

by David Scott of Children’s Hospital Colorado.

Thursday morning also included a leadership summit for members of TN20.

Hand-picked HTM leaders had an exclusive opportunity to network with the best and brightest in the industry and gain invaluable knowledge for their departments. Following the summit, TN20 members participated in a reverse expo and met with several vendors. Rick Downs, vice president of oncology and diagnostic imaging for Avante Health Solutions, provided positive feedback about the reverse expo.

“First of all, the concept of it is fantastic. This particular one, you really had industry leaders there that were very, very interested in what everyone had to say. Everyone was very attentive, and the overall feel for it and flow was just fantastic,” Downs noted.

Thursday afternoon consisted of educational workshops presented by a variety of speakers, including Carol Davis-Smith of Carol Davis-Smith &

Associates, Alan Gresch of Accruent and Corrie Schumacher of Spacelabs Healthcare. Davis-Smith had a few words to say about her involvement in the conference.

“Thank you for the opportunity to be part of a great conference!” said Davis-Smith. “I enjoyed presenting, learning and networking this past week in Baltimore. I left with several promising leads, in addition to several new colleagues.”

Thursday concluded with a welcome reception, sponsored by Medigate.

Attendees enjoyed a complimentary breakfast Friday morning before the start of classes. Several educational sessions were presented throughout the morning. Some notable presentations were “Building a Medical Device Security Management Plan,” given by Inhel Rekik of MedStar Health, and “Creating and Implementing a Capital Replacement Planning Initiative,” given

by Michael Heusser and Bianca Wyman of Middlesex Health.

Dustin Smith, director of central support, clinical engineering for Intermountain Healthcare, was asked why he decided to attend MD Expo. He answered, “It’s all about the education.

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TECHNATION

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cybersecurity. The exhibit hall is always great for keeping up with the latest technology and what is out there for my technicians in test equipment.” JEOVANNI RIVAS I mean, there are tons of industry experts here, and I am always looking to acquire more knowledge.”

Attendee Nicole Richards of Massachusetts provided feedback on her class experience.

“I think it is great to come out and get a new sense of what is out in the HTM field,” Richards said. “I was really entertained by the education talks we had this morning. There was a lot of useful information coming up in the field and I’m excited for more.”

Following the education sessions, the exhibit hall, filled with vendors from all over the country, opened for both attendees and exhibitors to network and build connections. Over 100 vendors showcased the latest technologies and advancements.

Within the exhibit hall, many attendees gave positive feedback on their experience.

“This is my first time at one of these events,” said Maryland local Beau Smith.

“All of the companies here give you a lot of information. You can really further your career by getting into an atmosphere like this and being around people that do the same thing that you do.”

Another Maryland attendee, Lois

WWW.1TECHNATION.COM

SPOTLIGHT

Attendees and vendors enjoyed a happy hour with complimentary drinks after a busy day.

Alderton, said, “Vendors can showcase their products, and we can be hands-on with new software. It is great for networking with a wide variety of people in the field.”

Following the exhibit hall, a happy hour sponsored by MedWrench provided complimentary food and drink for attendees and vendors as they continued to converse. Afterwards, the young professionals of the field gathered for another MD Expo happy hour at Pickles Pub for more food, drink and an enjoyable networking experience to discuss the future of the industry.

Saturday kicked off with a GE Healthcare-sponsored keynote address, presented by Anthony J. Montagnolo, chief operating officer and executive vice president at ECRI Institute. His presentation “Crossing the Health Technology Chasm: Building a Bridge to the Future” covered several important topics and emphasized the ever-evolving health care industry. Montagnolo cited the Stewart Brand quote, “If you are not part of the steamroller, then you are part of the road.” In other words,

Montagnolo encouraged industry leaders to always keep their eyes and ears open and pay attention to what is happening in the field. “Later is frequently too late. Do not fool yourself,” he stated.

Education continued on Saturday with more classes. Other notable presentations included “How to Optimize Your Time Management Skills as an HTM Leader,” given by Laurie Schachtner of AMITA Health, and “Learning from Cybersecurity TTE at the Health-System Level,” given by Priyanka Upendra and Sam Buhrow of Banner Health. Upendra provided feedback about her colleagues and said “a lot of good organizations are presenting a lot of good case studies.”

The second day of the exhibit hall followed Saturday’s education.

“There are a lot of great vendors here that have the potential to do work in our actual hospital. I am excited to just meet with them and see the new products that they have coming out,” Richards noted.

MD Expo Baltimore finished the

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

successful conference with a Pink Out Block Party on Saturday evening, sponsored by AIV. Everyone in attendance came with their best pink outfits and danced the night away with a great band. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, everyone had the opportunity to donate to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, and the party raised over $2,000.

Chris Hawkins, biomed manager for the University of Kansas Health System, applauded the MD Expo crew for another stellar event.

“Every year I come it grows,” Hawkins said. “The education is just as good as AAMI, if not better. It is a great atmosphere!”

He said MD Expo ispaying attention to the idustry with timely educational sessions as well as the industry-specific companies in the exhibit hall.

“My biggest takeway from this year’s MD Expo is the focus on medical device security. We are behind on that,” he added. “All these companies are here that can help us with that.”

Jeovanni Rivas from MedStar Georgetown University hospital echoed Hawkins.

“As always, cybersecurity and cleaning of medical equipment classes were very impressive,” Rivas said. “This MD Expo is providing takeaway points on cybersecurity. The exhibit hall is always great for keeping up with the latest technology and what is out there for my technicians in test equipment.”

“Though Baltimore was a new city for MD Expo, we were very pleased with the support of the local Baltimore Medical Engineers and Technicians Society (BMETS). Their promotion of the conference to their members ramped up registration numbers and proved to lead to several top-notch speakers for the conference,” said Kristin Leavoy, MD Publishing Vice President.

The Baltimore conference was one to remember. Next, MD Expo goes west as it returns to the site of one of the largest conferences. MD Expo Irvine is set for April 20-22 at Hotel Irvine.

For more information, visit MDExpoShow.com.

DECEMBER 2019

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SPOTLIGHT

PROFESSIONAL OF THE MONTH Jerry Gatewood: Drawing on Experience

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

I

n 2015, Mount Carmel East Hospital, on the east side of Columbus, Ohio, entered into a modernization and expansion project. In 2018, the hospital announced the official “opening of the Mount Carmel East patient tower. The opening marks the end of phase one in a two-phase, $310 million transformation. This transformation phase includes a new patient tower, a more prominent main entrance, expanded parking, a larger lobby and park-like outdoor spaces,” according to their website.

The hospital originally opened in 1972.

The Mount Carmel Health System today is comprised of over 10,000 employees and 2,000 physicians serving Central Ohio through four hospitals.

The biomed supervisor at Mt. Carmel East Hospital is Jerry Gatewood.

In Gatewood’s professional of the month nomination, it stated that he had “15 years of experience in diagnostics, troubleshooting, calibration, repair, maintenance and installation of biomedical, electronic and electrical equipment with 10 years of specific experience in imaging technology (radiology); possessing strong electromechanical ability, manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination.”

The nomination also said that Gatewood has “great customer service, management and communication skills to help companies and organizations succeed.”

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Jerry Gatewood is the biomed supervisor at Mt. Carmel East Hospital.

Gatewood attempted to get his biomed start while serving in the U.S. Navy, but the timing wasn’t to be.

“I was a combat medic in the Navy.

When I was nearing the end of my tour, I tried to crossover to become a biomed.

I did not have enough time left, so I never got the opportunity. After my

discharge from the Navy, I started working for a biomed third-party company as a delivery person. After the only biomed went to training, the boss asked me to help out with some bench repairs. After a few days, he said I was a natural and promoted me to biomed,” Gatewood remembers.

Gatewood learned his skills the old fashion way; by getting his hands dirty.

“Everything was on the-job-training.

The first technical school I attended was for Midmark tables, chairs and sterilizers,” he says.

In the years to follow, he would be a field service technician, lead field service tech, senior biomed, imaging technician and supervisor. Today, his areas of specialization include cath lab equipment, ventilators, EEG, EMG and imaging equipment.

STEWARDSHIP AND FAMILY During the past decade and a half, a few challenges have presented themselves.

One is working within a budget for a not-for-profit that gives so much back to the community.

“We are constantly pushed to stewardship. Our resources are

WWW.1TECHNATION.COM

SPOTLIGHT

“ Every day is a blessing and I enjoy sharing those blessings with others. I enjoy assisting my co-workers when and where I can. I absolutely love my career and could not picture myself doing anything else.”

FAVORITE BOOK:

Anything by Stephen King but “The Stand” is my all-time favorite

FAVORITE MOVIE:

“Shaun of the Dead”

FAVORITE FOOD: Mexican

HIDDEN TALENT:

Singing in the shower for my dogs

FAVORITE PART OF BEING A BIOMED:

“Daily accomplishments that help protect patients and staff. Keeping the equipment downtime to a minimum. And my coworkers; they are an important part of my workday.”

WHAT’S ON MY BENCH/DESK? • • • • •

White Monster Energy Drink Pictures of my family My Multi-tool My fan Important vendors on speed dial

entrusted to us by our community and patients. We have to be ever vigilant to ensure that if we second source our repair parts, that they are not only cost-effective, but meet the original standard of the OEM. By doing this, we can ensure the best quality of care and outcome for our patients. We also have to maintain a balanced staff to ensure that no one technician has so much work versus having too many technicians that they do not have enough to do during their shift,” Gatewood says.

Another challenge revolved around facility modernization.

“Our hospital was built in the 1970s, so needless to say, we had to bring it up to standards to meet the guidelines of modern health care. Up until three years ago, most of our hospital was double occupancy rooms. We embarked on our modernization project to ensure every room is a private room,” Gatewood says.

“I have been involved with bringing in, checking, staging and the installation of new equipment as well as moving other areas to temporary locations while modernization of our older areas takes place. I have also been involved in planning our new shop area for our department to allow us not only a larger work area, but also a better overall workflow,” Gatewood adds.

He says that they also added a lead-lined work area for servicing imaging equipment right in their shop.

“This allows us an area that protects others from scatter radiation, but ensures a controlled environment for accurate calibrations,” Gatewood says.

Gatewood’s efforts in biomed have

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

been noticed by his current employer. “I received a Gem Award six months after I started with my current employer. I was nominated by one of my departments for going above and beyond normal expected service as well as providing excellent customer service,” he says.

Away from work, Gatewood enjoys family and working on projects.

“I am a total family man. I enjoy being with my family during my downtime and enjoy any activity I can share with them,” he says.

“I am married to my gorgeous wife, Karen, and have two teenagers; Noah who is 19 and Kassi who is 14,” Gatewood adds.

The family also has two dogs and a cat. Gatewood says he is a huge animal lover and would own five more dogs, cats, pigs, birds, etcetera, if his wife would let him.

“I enjoy working on projects around the house and anything mechanical with my vehicles; kind of a gear head,” Gatewood says. He says that he also enjoys golf and is an artist; drawing, painting and tattooing. He also likes home electronics repair and building computers.

“Motorcycle rides clear my head,” he adds Gatewood sums things up by saying that he is simply a lover of life.

“Every day is a blessing and I enjoy sharing those blessings with others. I enjoy assisting my co-workers when and where I can. I absolutely love my career and could not picture myself doing anything else,” he says.

With that attitude, HTM is blessed to have him.

DECEMBER 2019

TECHNATION

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SPOTLIGHT

COMPANY SHOWCASE

A

cela Medical provides asset management and equipment maintenance support to small hospitals and health care facilities who need professional, technical and proactive support. Currently, Acela Medical offers preventive maintenance plans as well as repair and sales services in Georgia and neighboring states.

“We also offer HTM department support for surgery centers, urgent care facilities as well as helping larger organizations with project support including onboarding equipment, asset management and staff augmentation during busy maintenance periods,” Acela Medical Owner and CEO Mark Mayeux explains.

ACELA MEDICAL HAS A UNIQUE BACKGROUND “Quality systems and standards are mandatory in the healthcare industry and our substantial hands-on experience

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DECEMBER 2019

with ISO 9001 and complying with multiple accreditation bodies is integrated into our day-to-day operations,” Mayeux says. “This means clients are confident that our services meet high standards with consistent results, and we strive for continuous process improvement.”

Complex maintenance and equipment calibration methods are a large part of the aerospace industry and Acela Medical has adapted these approaches into applicable durable medical equipment (DME) support processes. These processes provide original equipment manufacturer (OEM) levels of maintenance and provide clients with high levels of equipment uptime and better return on investment (ROI).

“I am Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certified in the aerospace and health care equipment and consumables industries.

Providing value while operating at faster speeds, with no waste, are key aspects of Six-Sigma. Acela Medical has incorporated these concepts as well as the use of industry leading automated test equipment and 24/7 cloud-based asset

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SPOTLIGHT

Opposite Page: Unit Functional Testing with Fluke Automated Software .

Left: 24/7 EquipCare Portal.

aspects of each equipment type such as last PM date, pictures of the equipment and maintenance status auto-email functionality.” management, into our services,” Mayeux explains. “Our extensive experience building Six-Sigma business support processes directly benefits health care organizations by providing clients with best-in-class support and cost savings for their critical equipment.”

ACELA MEDICAL IS COMMITTED TO POSITIVE PATIENT OUTCOMES THROUGH VALUE-ADDED ASSET MANAGEMENT/PM PROGRAMS Clearly linking effective PM programs to positive outcomes for patients while improving the bottom line for facilities is key to overcoming internal roadblocks and the break/fix mentality.

“We recently had a client who did not track equipment battery aging. In the Atlanta area, as in other parts of the country, we have thunderstorms that often affect a facility’s electrical power quality. A storm caused issues with some of their older equipment,” Mayeux explains. “We helped them develop and implement a simple, practical plan to better manage their battery fleet and minimize equipment failure.

Common facility issues like power surges and drops can be mitigated with the right PM and asset management strategy.

Proactive plans can also benefit patient care and reduce caregiver workload. Part of our commitment to better health care is to clearly explain the benefits of practical, value-added maintenance programs to clients and stakeholders.”

“Our asset management process is indispensable to our clients as it provides a cloud-based, 24/7, easy-to-access system for PM records, cost information and email reminders of upcoming events,” he adds. “I have worked with clients in the past who had multiple mobile patient information carts, but were not sure if all required maintenance was done and what the status of the carts were. We worked with them to help manage and control the process including finding, categorizing and tagging the wireless patient information carts so that the client knew how many were active and ready to provide value to the facility. These issues usually don’t become problems until someone needs a cart to quickly input patient data and one is not working or is unavailable. Our system is configurable so we can easily include client-specific

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

ACELA MEDICAL LOOKS TO BUILD ON ITS RECENT SUCCESS IN THE FUTURE BY CONTINUING TO EMPLOY THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST HTM PROFESSIONALS “Finding and hiring great biomed/HTM team members is key to class-leading customer service and satisfaction. We are actively looking for engaged biomeds and sales professionals to add to our team. I look forward to adding new team members and expanding our knowledge of additional equipment types to enable us to provide a broader array of equipment maintenance support coverage to our clients,” Mayeux says. “We are also currently working through the ISO 13485 certification process with our registrar and are targeting certification in 2020.”

“Along with cultivating our team we are working to grow strategically by finding great health care partners to drive long term value for the business,” he adds. “Our focus on client value and improving patient outcomes motivates us to constantly improve in all aspects including cost, time and service offerings.”

CHOOSING A DME/HTM PARTNER Acela Medical provides all of the technical experience necessary to support medical equipment including cloudbased asset management systems and business processes so that health care providers can focus on improving patient outcomes. The goal is to help health care organizations make accurate determinations of patient health and Acela Medical does this by providing best-in-class medical equipment support and service so that patients are properly diagnosed.

“Acela Medicals’ ability to innovate on equipment service and support while providing the highest quality is critical to our success. We work closely with our clients on a daily basis to ensure that we understand their needs,” Mayeux says.

“Our service focus helps us grow and succeed so that we are a trusted biomed service partner with our clients and customers.”

For more information, visit AcelaMedical.com.

DECEMBER 2019

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SPOTLIGHT

DEPARTMENT OF THE MONTH The Aiken Regional Medical Centers HTM Department

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

I

f you started out in Augusta, Georgia and headed northeast, you would very soon come upon Aiken, South Carolina. The two cities sit very close together; just a little more than a halfhour drive. They are separated by a state line, but little distance. The city of Aiken has the atmosphere of a quaint town with tree-lined streets and a sense of history. It was established before the Civil War. The equestrian culture is present in this city today and you can catch a steeplechase or a music festival in the city.

The local hospital has a long history.

Aiken Regional Medical Centers opened its doors in 1917. Today, the hospital is ranked as one of the top hospitals in South Carolina and is a subsidiary of Universal Health Services. (UHS). The hospital provides services to the people of Aiken, Barnwell and Edgefield counties.

Aiken Regional is a 273-bed facility.

The Aiken Regional Medical Centers Healthcare Technology Management

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(HTM) team manages the hospital’s medical equipment along with the equipment in over 20 doctor offices and clinics and a coastal behavioral hospital.

The HTM department accomplishes all of this with a director and three Medical Systems Equipment Technicians (MSET).

The team’s director is Matthew Kenney, CHTM. Other members are Bill Shaffer, senior MSET; Derek Wilsey, MSET; and Vince Simmons, MSET. “We are responsible for all things with medical equipment; from the service of the CT/ MRI to the stretchers and everything in-between. We take care of the scope repairs along with all accessories needed for equipment. We are an in-house program,” Kenney says.

Each member of the small team has specialized knowledge to allow them the ability to manage all equipment in-house.

Shaffer has anesthesia/ventilator training, contrast injector training and sterilizer training. Wilsey has injector training, ultrasound training, infusion pump training and hospital bed training.

Above: Matthew Kenney, CHTM, is the director of the Aiken Regional Medical Center’s HTM Department. Top: Members of the HTM department are, from left to right, Derek Wilsey, Bill Shaffer, Matthew Kenney and Vince Simmons.

Simmons has RSTI Phase 1 training and will be starting to ramp up a lot more imaging training very soon, according to Kenney. The team tries to keep service contracts to a minimum.

“We handle all service calls on equipment that is under contract and act as the lead in getting those items repaired.

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SPOTLIGHT Matthew Kenney (right) and Derek Wilsey at hospital week.

We also take care of all of the doctor’s offices in our network along with a behavioral hospital two hours away. We order equipment accessories, with our goal of capturing all equipment expenses,” Kenney says.

HOW CAN I HELP? With a four-member department, any special projects can present a real challenge. Yet, the department has handled these types of projects in stride.

“We have had several monitor upgrades that the department has been through along with major recall projects like Alaris IV pumps that took all hands on deck,” Kenney says.

He says that the monitor upgrade was for the ICU and ER. “With the ICU, we had to deal with a full patient load. We had to coordinate the exchange of monitors with nursing to ensure we were able to monitor all patients continuously. This was accomplished by having several meetings, and with biomed’s support, we were able to fully swap them out all while taking care of the patients. We went room by room and didn’t move on till that room was completed and fully checked out. It made the process go flawlessly. We also worked together with GE to ensure it went smoothly; same with the ER,” Kenney says.

The team also pitches in during more challenging times when patient loads increase.

“During the winter months our hospital, like many others, gets very busy with flu season and such. During those times my staff steps up to the plate and we help out wherever we can,” Kenney says.

He says that can include transporting beds and stretchers to places that they are needed or helping housekeeping clean rooms and take out the trash.

“We gather unused equipment and redistribute it to those areas that are needing it most. I am very proud of my team’s attitude and drive. They never complain when given a task because they understand the important role, that as

HTM professionals, we play in ensuring our patients receive the best care. It does not stop with only ensuring the equipment is safe to use, it stops with patients getting well and going home and having the best experience while they are here,” Kenney says.

He says that anything the team can do to help accomplish that or help take something off a nurse’s plate, they are happy to do it.

“I have instilled my philosophy of ‘there is no such thing as not my job’ and instead it’s ‘how can I help,’” he says.

The HTM team is also always prepared to problem solve when needed.

“We talk about it as a group and then make decisions that are beneficial for everyone. We try to educate staff as much as possible. We never tell a department it’s not our job or problem. We assess and then redistribute if necessary. The nursing staff has an important job to do taking care of patients. They just want their equipment fixed. We always lend our expertise to fellow departments, whether it is an IT issue or engineering,” Kenney says.

Some examples of this approach include the need to change to new PACS in the radiology department.

“We were tasked with helping a new PACS coordinator to set up all the machines with the new AE titles and IP addresses. I was short-staffed and did not have anyone trained to deal with PACS or imaging. I asked my youngest tech Vince to take on the task, which he did willingly. He worked with each vendor and the PACS vendor and was able to be a huge help to the radiology department.

Vince was recognized several times by the rad department for his outstanding work

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

with this project and issues. I have since sent Vince to schooling for imaging equipment repair and will be ramping it up even more in the next year, including more detailed PACS training. This was a direct result of his drive and ability to take the problem head-on. I couldn’t have asked for anything more from him,” Kenney says.

Another issue that the department helped in resolving was with stretcher repair.

“When we first went in-house, the stretchers were being repaired by engineering. However, they had a backlog of repairs and didn’t have enough staff to keep up. Since we were already doing the beds, I volunteered HTM to take these repairs on. The result was a huge success. Stretchers are being repaired much quicker and more efficiently. More importantly, engineering was happy to have them off their plate and that time freed up for other important issues,” Kenney says.

Kenney says that the team has a great support system from UHS corporate to the local administration.

“They have fully bought into what HTM can do for you. Our knowledge and expertise are appreciated and welcomed. They believe in training and have allowed us to better support the hospital staff and more importantly the patients. Without their willingness, we couldn’t do or be who we are today. I truly think I have the best shop and best job in the world. I really enjoy coming to work every day,” Kenney adds.

In the picturesque town of Aiken, South Carolina, the work of HTM gets done efficiently and without complaint.

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SPOTLIGHT Bhumika Patel became the first GBIS ACI Scholarship candidate to receive a reimbursement check for completing the CBET certification test.

ASSOCIATION OF THE MONTH

The Georgia Biomedical Instrumentation Society (GBIS)

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

T

he state of Georgia has a lot to offer, from mountains and vast foliage to oceanfront living. College football is a big deal in the state and peaches can be served in more forms than imaginable. The winters are usually not too bad and there are many opportunities for tourists.

The state’s biomed association has been in existence for 34 years. It was incorporated as a 501c3 organization in 1998. The Georgia Biomedical Instrumentation Society (GBIS) serves the HTM community across the state of Georgia.

“The GBIS conducts several educational seminars each year, hosts meetings on a regular basis, has an annual conference, and encourages additional chapters in the parts of the state where

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there is interest. We also contribute to affiliated charity organizations,” according to the organization’s website.

Horace Hunter is one of the founding members and holds the position of executive director. Hunter has been in biomed since 1975 and has been involved with associations in Colorado, Florida and Georgia. Hunter is now retired after 35 years at Archbold Medical Center and stays busy with GBIS, his business and helping people. Dr. Mike O’Rear and Emmanuel King, along with Hunter, are the last founders still actively involved with the society.

The Georgia Biomedical Instrumentation Society originated as an amalgamation of several separate organizations.

Hunter says that GBIS started when members from four local societies –

Atlanta Biomedical Association, Central Georgia Biomedical Society, South Georgia Biomedical Society, and Savannah Biomedical converged.

“Each group was having problems with individual participation,” Hunter says.

He says that back in the 1970s and 1980s there were few schools offering biomedical technology.

“So, the group decided to develop an organization to promote the HTM profession by advancing the knowledge of personnel involved in the selection, development, operation, repair and support of biomedical instrumentation.

Georgia Biomedical Instrumentation Society was formed,” Hunter says.

Although education is a core element of most biomed associations, there are other projects and commitments that enrich the local biomed community. GBIS has been

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SPOTLIGHT

“ GBIS gives to affiliate charities and has helped members in need to participate in HTM events when the budget allows.

We like to think of GBIS as a family helping others.”

HORACE HUNTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GBIS involved in several initiatives.

“Many of our members promote HTM Week at their hospitals and a picnic for biomeds. GBIS has conducted workshops at schools and hospitals around the state to help promote the HTM career field to students. GBIS has coordinated training classes for biomeds by utilizing corporate members who care about the betterment of HTM. Several of our corporate members have donated equipment to technical schools to help train biomeds for the HTM field. Next year, we plan to have a workshop committee to develop a list of schools throughout the state to participate,” Hunter says.

He says that GBIS has also developed internship programs to help institutional members with manpower issues and, in return, help the interns gain employment and experience. Sometimes, GBIS members volunteer to supervise the internship program on-site, as needed.

“GBIS has assisted job recruiters, vendors, manufacturers, students and others with job placement opportunities.

We don’t post jobs wanted/needed because it is hard to keep up with. What we do is refer to other websites that have jobs posted; like AAMI, other biomed associations and if we can assist, we will send out emails to our member base and others,” Hunter says.

The group recently awarded its first GBIS ACI Certification Scholarship. The scholarship went to Bhumika Patel, CBET. “She received a $400 check to reimburse her for some of the expenses incurred. Visit our website (www. gbisonline.org) to read the full details.

GBIS partnered with AAMI and CABMET for resources support,” Hunter says. MediMizer sponsored the scholarship.“GBIS gives to affiliate charities and has helped members in need to participate in HTM events when the budget allows. We like to think of GBIS as a family helping others. Some of our past and present affiliate charities are Boehm

Birth Defect Center, Team Motivation, Med Share and the Red Cross,” Hunter says.

BIOMEDS GATHER FROM ACROSS GEORGIA As with many HTM statewide organizations, GBIS holds an annual conference to bring together members, vendors and keynote speakers.

“The GBIS Technical Conference & Expo was held August 16-17, 2019. The highlights of the conference were the Meet and Greet event sponsored by Vizzia Technologies. This was held at the Marriott Courtyard with free food and drinks for all. Participants gathered to mingle with others and have a great time,” Hunter says.

“GBIS has conducted a conference every year since its beginning. We try to move the conference location across the state of Georgia to give members the opportunity to attend. This year’s conference was held at Central Georgia Technical College in Macon, Georgia. We had a little over 100 in attendance and offered several classes for attendees which earned ACI credits. Our guest speaker was Martin J. McLaughlin of AAMI and we have several supportive vendors and sponsors,” Hunter says.

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

In addition to, and concurrent with the conference, the group holds an annual meeting for members at large. “We hold tele and video conference meetings for the board of trustees and directors as needed throughout the year,” Hunter says.

“GBIS is very involved with all the technical colleges in Georgia that offer a biomed program. We have several members that are instructors but to start the programs, we had to get state approval,” Hunter adds.

Hunter was on the committee that wrote the state standards that the Technical College System of Georgia used to establish the Biomedical Engineering Technology and the Specialization in Biomedical Technology programs.

“Three of our board members teach the biomed program in two of the technical colleges in Georgia. Mr. Glen Stone teaches at the Central Georgia Technical College in Macon, Georgia, and Dr. Mike O’Rear teaches at Chattahoochee Technical College in Acworth, Georgia. Dr. Jeff Smooth is now teaching at Mira Costa Community College, Ocean Side, California. We have several other technical colleges in Georgia we support as the need arises,” Hunter says.

In the Peach State, HTM professionals have an established friend and advocate in GBIS.

The GBIS Technical Conference & Expo draws biomeds from throughout the Peach State.

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SPOTLIGHT

COMPANY SHOWCASE

The Tech Knowledge Associates team based in Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera, CA performs preventative maintenance on a ventilator (above) and a collimator (below).

TKA Is Making Healthcare Technology Management Smarter

A

t TKA, we make healthcare technology management smarter. Considering the rapid pace at which health care is changing, there’s never been a better time to get smart about healthcare technology management.

Since our launch in 2012 as a system-wide initiative for California’s St. Joseph Health System, our priority has always been maximizing efficiencies to help deliver the best possible patient care. Today we transform healthcare technology programs to give clients the performance and peace of mind they need, want and deserve.

One of the cornerstones of our success

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is our emphasis on empowering our technicians to do the right thing, the right way, at the right moment — often in the moment. It’s a definitive extension of our focus on efficiency, effectiveness and prioritizing patient care.

At TKA, we’re also looking ahead to how we support progress as health care advances. We’re proud to be impacting the future as a flexible and forward-thinking group of leaders responding to the ever-changing health care landscape and our clients’ evolving needs.

TKA HAS BEEN SMART FROM THE START TKA originated from innovation. It’s part of our DNA. At the beginning, TKA’s prime directive

was to design a strategic new approach to make St. Joseph Health’s healthcare technology management more efficient, more effective and less costly. At the time, St. Joseph Health was a 16-hospital health system spanning three states. Each hospital had an independent healthcare technology management program, and costs were ballooning. As TKA, we brought these programs together, within the Innovation Institute, to reduce risks and costs while improving service.

From program inception until the end of March 2019, we saved St. Joseph Health $58.5 million.

How did we do it — and still do it, now that we serve clients beyond St. Joseph’s Health?

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SPOTLIGHT “We’ve never been ‘business as usual.’

We deliver services differently because that’s how we were born,” TKA President George Hampton says. “We align with the mission of the Innovation Institute to fuel health care innovation, rather than generate profits for shareholders. Our approach is more creative and more focused because that’s our ‘normal.’ TKA is a smarter choice for clients who want — and need — to save.”

TKA IS GETTING EVEN SMARTER ABOUT HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT TKA’s responsiveness to the changing needs of our clients already sets us apart.

And we continue to strengthen our core capabilities to maintain our role as a trusted partner for clients — today and tomorrow.

“We aim to remove the burden of healthcare technology management from clinicians, so they can focus on patient care,” says Dave Francoeur, TKA’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

“That includes striving to provide a full spectrum of services to fulfill all of our clients’ needs, maximizing their value and minimizing their effort and costs. It also includes staying flexible to address changes in health care and health care delivery.”

One of TKA’s major growth initiatives

is providing tools and data to deliver what clients need when and where they need it.

It’s an initiative already in full swing.

“Good data drives good decision making,” says Hampton. “We’re providing clients with the data they need to make decisions, not only in the moment but also to help support their forward direction.

Whether it’s measuring usage or planning for upgrades, the goal is making those processes more effective so we maximize uptime and availability. Because when we maximize uptime and availability, we empower our clients to deliver the best possible patient care.”

Another major growth initiative underway for TKA is reaching its goal to become a full-spectrum service provider, removing responsibilities from clinicians so they can focus on patient care.

“At the end of the day, increasing our service capabilities — while minimizing costs — results in empowering clinicians to focus on patient care,” says Francoeur.

“Clinicians should never have to worry about where to find equipment, whether it works, or whether it’s clean. Our READI program is one great example of expanding our services to solve a major problem in the clinical environment. READI ensures at-the-ready access to clean, operable, portable clinical devices, which increases safety, compliance, utilization, satisfaction and efficiency — while reducing expenses.”

Beyond READI, TKA is taking the concept of smarter service to a whole new level.

“I believe the future of TKA goes beyond efficiency and service. I think we need to wrap up in a bow everything our clients worry about when it comes to managing their equipment fleet,” says Hampton. “That includes looking at everything from central control, cleaning and cyber safety to addressing equipment leasing, purchasing, capital needs analysis and even funding, and then building that into the value we bring to our clients. It’s exciting to know that future is on the horizon for our clients.”

TKA WILL MAKE A SMART IMPACT ON THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE Consolidation in health care is creating mega organizations that become more

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

rigid the bigger they get. This makes it increasingly difficult for those organizations to meet the needs of clinicians.

TKA is uniquely poised to solve the challenge.

“TKA is large and knowledgeable enough to meet any equipment need, yet we’re flexible and nimble enough to tailor programs to meet the unique needs of our clients,” says Hampton. “We have the expertise, the experience, the size and the skill sets required to align with what our clients need today — and adapt to what they need tomorrow. We can be innovative in solving problems and bringing value because of our history, our ownership, and our focus on the greater mission of driving health care innovation.”

“When you look at our competitive environment it’s easy to see why we’re the smart choice,” says Francoeur.

“Manufacturers sell equipment, but then lock customers into service contracts that may not meet their current and ongoing needs. In-house healthcare technology management comes with the exposure and risks of running a program, and skills are limited to the in-house talent pool. Finally, other independent service organizations are, frankly, more susceptible to price pressures because of their structure — like the demands of private equity investors. None of those three options equate to comprehensive service, flexibility and savings for hospitals and health systems.”

TKA is different. TKA manages the complete healthcare technology program, not just specific pieces. TKA co-creates programs for each hospital’s unique needs, focusing on optimizing technology while minimizing costs through a fixed-cost contract model. And TKA’s highly trained team of experts is available 24/7. We do it all, from policy and procedures to regulatory to HR. That’s what makes TKA the smart choice.

“We’re here to help our clients evolve as health care evolves,” says Hampton. “That makes TKA a smart partner today — and into the future.”

At TKA, we do it better, make it easier and deliver more to maximize your results and give you a competitive edge. That’s the smarter way. Partner smart with TKA. For more information, visit ii-techknow.com.

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

NEWS & NOTES

Updates from the HTM Industry STAFF REPORTS

MEDICUS IT ACQUIRES PRIORITYONE GROUP Medicus IT (MIT), health care-focused managed services provider (MSP) based in Alpharetta, Georgia, has announced the acquisition of PriorityOne Group (P1), a health care managed IT services provider based in Rutherford, New Jersey.

“Our affiliation with P1 strategically expands our national presence and improves our partnerships with key vendors and suppliers,” said Chris Jann, CEO of Medicus IT. “This will ultimately result in our providing more value and resources to our clients.”

Founded in 1997, P1 provides integrated IT services to health care organizations of all sizes, primarily throughout the Northeast.

“The company has built a commanding presence as the premier IT solution in the Northeast and established a reputation for delivering world-class IT services customized to fit each client engagement. Its leadership is regularly called upon to serve as sources of expertise by professional groups, associations and publications,” according to a press release.

“MIT is an impressive company, with a skilled team of professionals and outstanding range of services. P1 is excited to join one of the fastest-growing health care MSPs in the country. The combining of our companies and expanded access to resources will provide short- and long-term benefits to our clients, employees and partners,” P1 President and CEO Nelson Gomes said. •

MCCOMBS LAUNCHES CYBERSECURITY LEADERSHIP PROGRAM The McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin announces the Leadership in Health Care Privacy and Security Risk Management certificate program, a new first-in-the-nation professional program designed to help address a critical workforce shortage issue. The program’s aim is to develop leaders who can manage risk in American health care systems, protecting them from fast-evolving cybersecurity threats. There are currently 350,000 unfilled cybersecurity job openings in the United States.

Endorsed by the Texas Hospital Association, and by CynergisTek and Clearwater Compliance, the program brings together leading industry experts as teachers and case facilitators.

“We are excited to offer this program to give students knowledge, leadership skills and problem-solving competencies to protect patients from the irreparable harm that comes from the relentless cyber-attacks on health care organizations,” said Leanne Field, clinical professor and director for digital healthcare innovation at UT Austin and co-director of the program.

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“The number of data breaches is rapidly increasing across the globe and cybersecurity threats have a major impact on patient safety in health care organizations,” said Sri Bharadwaj, chief information security officer at UC Irvine Health and co-director of the program.

“It is our job to remain on the cutting edge of experiential teaching and learning. We want to influence the health care industry in positive ways and we want to make sure our students are ready to meet the challenges facing business and health care,” said Jay Hartzell, McCombs dean.

The eight-week program graduated a pilot class of 16 participants in August 2019. Students ranged in age from their early 20s to their late 50s and included working professionals from cybersecurity, information technology and clinical fields, as well as military veterans and recent college graduates.

Graduates of the program receive a professional certificate and are able to implement their knowledge in their current jobs or in new positions. McCombs plans to offer the program again in spring 2020. •

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

MITA RELEASES NATIONAL STANDARD FOR MEDICAL DEVICE SECURITY The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) has announced the publication of NEMA/MITA HN 1-2019, Manufacturer Disclosure Statement for Medical Device Security, also known as MDS2. This voluntary standard supports security risk management within health care delivery organizations by providing standardized information on security control features integrated within medical devices.

The standard, whose development was led by MITA in conjunction with a diverse group of interested parties, includes a form intended to provide health care delivery organizations with crucial information and security control features within medical devices. It also clarifies the roles of manufacturers and healthcare delivery organizations in ensuring the security of medical devices.

“This standard is an important step in the collaborative efforts between health delivery organizations and manufacturers to mitigate cybersecurity risk,” said Tim Walsh, principal information security analyst – CIS

operations, Mayo Clinic, and member of the MDS2 Canvass Group. “Transparent information and speed of getting that information from manufacturers to health delivery organizations are crucial, and this standard helps foster both.”

The shared responsibility recognized by this standard is aligned with the position of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which released a preparedness and response “playbook” last October to help health care delivery organizations address threats to medical device cybersecurity.

Recognizing that manufacturers, hospitals, health care providers, cybersecurity researchers and government entities all have roles to play in addressing threats to medical device cybersecurity, the playbook serves as a valuable resource to health care delivery organizations as they develop their individual emergency response plans. • For more information, visit tinyurl.com/MITA-Standard.

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

PARTSSOURCE DELIVERS INSTANT ACCESS TO MINOR MEDICAL EQUIPMENT PartsSource, an ISO 9001:2015-certified provider of medical replacement parts, service and comprehensive technology solutions, has expanded its online procurement platform to deliver instant access to quality minor equipment. Healthcare technology management (HTM) teams can now quickly assess the quality, cost and availability of minor medical equipment from different OEMs, without shopping around, contacting multiple vendors and waiting for pricing, availability and call backs.

Broken and misplaced medical devices occur frequently in hospitals and pose risks to patient safety and wait times.

When a device breaks or is lost, as frequently as weekly in some hospitals, talented clinical engineers can spend hours of valuable time searching for reasonably priced, quality replacement equipment. Hospitals need a reliable solution to access minor equipment quickly, so patients don’t wait.

“PartsSource has created a much-needed consolidated option – for parts, service and now purchase of minor medical equipment,” said Jeremy Cook, senior director of healthcare technology management at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, a seven-hospital system in Memphis, Tenn. “Now when we have routine minor capital needs or have to plan for special projects like building out a new space, we can do it with just one partner.”

Among the hundreds of new minor equipment options available, PartsSource has expanded its platform to include the most in-demand, high-quality infusion pumps, telemetry transmitters and patient monitors, with the goal of helping customers reduce minor equipment spend. The majority of the minor equipment portfolio features pricing up to 50% lower than the OEM and all in one place, eliminating the time it typically takes clinical engineers to research options, pricing and availability of much-needed patient equipment. •

MEDINAS RECEIVES FUNDING FOR HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT MARKETPLACE Medinas, a technology-driven asset management company for hospitals, has announced the close of a $5 million oversubscribed seed funding round led by NFX. Additional investors in the round include Precursor Ventures, Sound Ventures, FJ Labs and Bryan Frist.

Due to the cost and daunting nature of asset management, hospitals have been slow to adopt problem-solving technologies. Many hospitals in the United States still utilize spreadsheets to manage their inventory of medical equipment, which often results in misplaced equipment and millions of wasted dollars. In the U.S. market alone, there are over 6,200 hospitals, 9,200 ambulatory surgery centers, 7,000 imaging centers and 166,000 dental clinics.

Medinas is transforming health care IT by equipping hospitals with a cloud-based asset management platform that not only provides hospitals with user-friendly software to track and organize assets, but allows them to redeploy, sell or donate unneeded medical equipment with the click of a button.

The funding will be used to expand sales and hire software development talent. To further bolster hospitals’ asset management capabilities, Medinas is developing new software features that focus on inventory management, equipment redeployment and equipment maintenance management.

“We’re the first to empower hospitals with modern software to manage their equipment inventory and

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remarketing programs,” said Chloe Alpert, co-founder and CEO of Medinas. “NFX has spent decades learning how market networks thrive. Their experience is going to help drive Medinas to national and international success.”

Medinas empowers hospitals in three key ways: (1) Valuing their existing capital equipment using the Medinas Price Book in order to make better utilization decisions, (2) redeploy and track equipment to other hospitals and clinics within their system and (3) quickly, safely and easily resell/donate or recycle their used equipment, helping them recover billions in value. It also gives smaller hospitals access to pre-owned equipment that they wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise.

“This is a classic market network; we have hundreds of thousands of businesses exchanging billions of dollars of value offline. It’s currently time-consuming, repetitive, error-prone, wasteful and risky. Medinas solves this problem,” said James Currier, managing partner at NFX. “We have 15 years of learning how to empower people using software to make transactions just like this.”

“Streamlining equipment procurement and remarketing is top of mind for hospital boards,” said Charles Hudson, managing partner at Precursor Ventures. “Hospital CFOs realize they’re wasting billions of dollars with their current processes. Medinas is finally bringing modern software to the table to solve this problem as many other industries have already experienced.” •

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

FDA ANNOUNCES POTENTIAL CYBERSECURITY VULNERABILITIES In October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration informed patients, health care professionals, IT staff in health care facilities and manufacturers of a set of cybersecurity vulnerabilities, referred to as “URGENT/11,” that – if exploited by a remote attacker – may introduce risks for medical devices and hospital networks. URGENT/11 affects several operating systems that may then impact certain medical devices connected to a communications network, such as Wi-Fi and public or home Internet, as well as other connected equipment such as routers, connected phones and other critical infrastructure equipment. These cybersecurity vulnerabilities may allow a remote user to take control of a medical device and change its function, cause denial of service, or cause information leaks or logical flaws, which may prevent a device from functioning properly or at all.

The public was first informed of these vulnerabilities in a July 2019 advisory sent by the Department of Homeland Security. In October, the FDA provided additional information regarding the source of these vulnerabilities and recommendations for reducing or avoiding risks the vulnerabilities may pose to certain medical devices.

“While advanced devices can offer safer, more convenient and timely health care delivery, a medical device connected to a communications network could have cybersecurity vulnerabilities that could be exploited resulting in patient harm,” said Amy Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D., FDA’s principal deputy commissioner. “The FDA urges manufacturers everywhere to remain vigilant about their medical products – to monitor and assess cybersecurity vulnerability risks, and to be proactive about disclosing vulnerabilities and mitigations to address them. This is a cornerstone of the FDA’s efforts to work with manufacturers, health care delivery organizations, security researchers, other government agencies and patients to develop and implement solutions to address cybersecurity issues that affect medical devices in order to keep patients safe.”

The URGENT/11 vulnerabilities exist in a third-party software, called IPnet, that computers use to communicate with each other over a network. This software is part of several operating systems and may be incorporated into other software applications, equipment and systems. The software may be used in a wide range of medical and industrial devices.

The agency is asking manufacturers to work with health care providers to determine which medical devices, either in their health care facility or used by their patients, could be affected by URGENT/11 and develop risk mitigation plans. •

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ONESOURCE TO PROVIDE ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT DATABASE TO VA MEDICAL CENTERS oneSOURCE, a leading healthcare management solution, announced today that the company has been selected by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide a national patient safety platform of document database services for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) at all VA sites and satellite clinics. Through this partnership, all VHA sites will have online access to the oneSOURCE platform containing digital Instructions for Use (IFUs) and manuals needed to meet CMS and The Joint Commission accreditation requirements for Surgical Instruments, Equipment, Dental, Tissue/Implants and Biomed.

“Securing an opportunity that promotes oneSOURCE’s mission to a broader audience and allows us to provide our

revolutionary platform to such necessary facilities as VHA sites is nothing short of outstanding,” said Jack Speer, co-founder and president of oneSOURCE. “Throughout this year we have experienced phenomenal growth and incredible achievements. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary, transformed and elevated the brand and steadily demonstrated our dedication to changing the face of patient safety with our relentless passion to delivering unmatched service and tools to the industry. Partnerships like these only cement us as authorities in the healthcare management industry.” • For more information, visit onesourcedocs.com.

STUDY: UL CYBERSECURITY STANDARD PROVIDES RISK MANAGEMENT The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and UL, a global safety science organization, have announced the completion of a two-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) Program for medical device cybersecurity. As medical devices are susceptible to cybersecurity attacks, creating both patient safety risks and disclosure risks for protected health information, the VA and UL sought to address an existing gap in the marketplace for cybersecurity standards and practical certification approaches for connected medical devices.

With the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) revolutionizing patient care, increasing efficiency and improving health care quality, the VA aimed to find solutions for securing large-scale IoMT device deployments supporting mission-critical care delivery for roughly nine million patients under its care. Historically, patching and reconfiguring devices to extend service lifetimes has resulted in devices with outdated, vulnerable software, presenting cybersecurity challenges and, in turn, greater patient risk. Between 2016 and 2018, VA and UL used the UL 2900 Series of Standards as a benchmark to identify critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities in connected medical device deployment and lifecycle management as well as create baseline cybersecurity requirements for medical device manufacturers.

“The VA and UL teams drove the exchange of information between public and private sector knowledge and approaches to patient safety and security,” said Anura Fernando, chief innovation architect, life and health sciences, UL. “This collaboration helped us uncover new insights and further accelerate the sharing of medical device cybersecurity information, standards and lifecycle requirements with the

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intention of benefitting not only the VA hospital system but also the larger U.S. health care system of providers and manufacturers.”

As part of the CRADA project, a task group of VA, UL and public sector and private collaborators convened to address health care technology challenges by identifying security gaps between in-home and in-facility care, ensuring product functionality for FIPS 140-2 compliance and accelerating the adoption of leading-edge equipment. The team also conducted a simulated “hacking” demonstration at a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) site in Tampa, Fla., using ICU Medical’s Plum 360 Infusion Pump, a UL 2900 certified medical device.

The task group worked closely for two years to test hypotheses and expand their knowledge of medical device cybersecurity. Key CRADA findings include: • VA’s use of UL 2900 Series of Standards and related product testing and certification can accelerate the adoption of innovative health care technologies through improved pre-procurement product vetting and postprocurement product management.

• Testing and certification to UL 2900 provided VA staff greater confidence in the product development process, product security control design evaluation and post-market patch management support being offered by manufacturers.

• Compliance with UL 2900 enhanced endpoint security improved the balance of network security controls with product security controls, providing improved allocation of cybersecurity resources to focus limited resources on priority threats to veterans’ security and safety.

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RIBBON CUTTING HTM Education

BY ERIN REGISTER

A

s a clinical engineer and CBET preparation instructor, Meet Patel understood the commitment that students must make in order to perform well on the Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET) exam. “It can be a daunting and arduous process if you do not know where to start, especially if you choose to self-study,” Patel stated. He started HTM Education to help students pass the CBET test through an enriched learning experience designed to set students up for success in the healthcare technology field.

TechNation learned more about HTM Education through a question-andanswer session.

Q: WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO START HTM EDUCATION? WHAT WAS YOUR START-UP PROCESS? A: When I was fresh in the field, I struggled with grappling health care concepts at the enterprise level and did not have direct access to the cuttingedge technologies while working as a clinical engineering intern. I would always hear my classmates use big terms involving EMR implementations, device integration and other expensive device replacement projects. Now that I work for a premier health care organization, I know for a fact that those were just big terms. These concepts sound complex but are simple once you learn the “why” behind them. While a self-study path enables students to set their own pace, HTM Education provides students with

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the know-how to tackle each section of the test with confidence and ease.

Meet Patel HTM Education

Q: WHAT IS THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE CLASS? A: The course focuses on best preparing students for each section of the CBET exam. In my CBET preparation class, I always place an emphasis on the “big picture” and package it into bite-size pieces with the material. Regardless of one’s position in their professional career, he or she is going to walk away with a lot more than just a refresher on the CBET.

retirement. I use my personal experience with the systems, as well as the system of systems, to provide a broader context to the material they are studying. The class aims to re-orient students and give them a better understanding of the material, so the next time they encounter an issue, they will see it from top-down, not down-up.

HTM Education has seen incredible success with this method. With 91 mentored students, we have a 90% passing rate and an average score of 134/165. We also have an engaging class structure and pay attention to the material. This class helps students feel prepared and confident for the CBET exam and beyond.

Q: HOW DOES YOUR CLASS STAND OUT? A: There are other CBET prep courses that have been around for quite some time and are good at what they do. The “X factor” in my class is that the learning experience for all students is unequivocally enriching. The class is accessible to everyone, including young graduates and professionals nearing

For more information, visit www.htmeducation. org/ or email htmeducation@gmail.com.

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From Our Family To Yours,

Happy Holidays

INDUSTRY UPDATES

AAMI UPDATE

BY AAMI

AAMI SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR AWARDS PROGRAMS Do you know a health technology innovator, safety advocate or revolutionary individual? How about a standards leader or humanitarian? You can make sure that health technology’s finest are recognized for their achievements by nominating them for an AAMI or AAMI Foundation award.

The winners will receive a monetary prize, a plaque commemorating their achievements, and recognition at the AAMI Exchange, June 12-15 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Nominations are due January 6, 2020.

For more information, visit www.aami.org/awards.

AAMI FOUNDATION EMBARKS ON NEW DIRECTION With a new focus on advancing the professional development of health technology professionals and the safety of technology through scholarships, awards and grants, the AAMI Foundation is in the midst of launching several exciting initiatives.

“Over the last decade, the foundation’s greatest success has been helping professionals enter the health care field, rewarding excellence through awards, and funding important research,” said Steve Yelton, chair of the AAMI Foundation Board and professor emeritus at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College in Ohio. “That need is growing, and the AAMI Foundation is ideally suited to help.”

Taking the helm of the foundation as its executive director is Steve Campbell, AAMI’s chief operating officer (COO).

Campbell and Deputy Director Jim Piepenbrink have big plans for another valuable program – The Mary K. Logan Research Grant, which is named after AAMI’s former president and chief executive officer, who championed the foundation’s patient safety initiatives.

“In 2016, the AAMI Foundation designated $3 million to this grant program, and we’ve had good success funding important projects in healthcare technology,” said Campbell, who will continue to serve as AAMI’s COO. “Now, we want to take the program to new heights.”

The AAMI Foundation recently awarded the $40,000 Mary K. Logan Research Grant to the Cincinnati Children’s

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Hospital Medical Center in Ohio to fund a project intended to disseminate and distribute recently developed indications for continuous pediatric monitoring to ensure the appropriate monitoring of patients.

NEW TIR HELPS INDUSTRY MEET GLOBAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT EXPECTATIONS A new technical information report (TIR) published by AAMI aims to help U.S. medical device manufacturers better understand Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory requirements during the agency’s transition from the quality management standard 21 CFR 820 to the international standard, AAMI/ANSI/ISO 13485:2016.

The FDA originally announced its intention to replace 21 CFR 820 with the international standard in May 2018.

Using AAMI TIR102:2019, U.S. FDA 21 CFR mapping to the applicable regulatory requirement references in ISO 13485:2016 Quality Management Systems, manufacturers can identify the key similarities and differences between 21 CFR 820 and 13485. This mapping will prove useful to manufacturers that currently comply with both standards as well as to manufacturers as they transition to 13485.

While the transition may be painful in the short-term, having one global set of quality management system standards is expected to offer long-term benefits thanks to eliminating redundancy.

“The FDA’s plan represents a huge step toward true global harmonization of medical device quality management systems, and AAMI TIR102 will help remove the mystery and facilitate a smooth transition,” said Wil Vargas, director of standards at AAMI. TIR102 contains a “translational matrix” consisting of two sets of tables that compare the differences, similarities and quality system considerations between 21 CFR 820 and 13485 requirements. The TIR is intended to be used by medical device manufacturers that are already familiar with quality management system requirements and terminology.

TIR102 is available for purchase at the AAMI Store. In addition, AAMI has updated its quality systems training courses to reflect the transition to the harmonized international standard.

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

CALL FOR HUMAN FACTORS PAPERS The summer 2020 issue of Horizons will focus on the importance of human factors in healthcare technology management, device design, standardization, manufacturing and regulation.

Submission categories include research articles based on scientific method, analysis articles based on scholarly investigation, case studies describing valuable real-world experiences or practice innovations, tools-based papers detailing emerging methods, measures, instruments and commentaries expressing informed opinions about events, trends and/or developments APPROVED Submissions are duePROOF January 15, 2020.

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AAMI BOARD MEMBER TAKES THE HELM OF UCONN CLINICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM Carol Davis-Smith, a member of the AAMI Board of Directors and principal of Carol Davis-Smith & Associates, is now the director of the clinical engineering program at the University of Connecticut (UConn). She follows in the footsteps of Frank Painter, an AAMI member and contributor who led the program for two decades.

In her new role, which began in August, Davis-Smith manages interns and relationships with hospitals that provide internships and teach clinical rotation courses.

“I am super honored, and I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to do this,” Davis-Smith said. “I want to be very respectful of the incredible history and reputation of this program. I want to build upon it.”

The leadership transition comes as the UConn program itself is transitioning from a largely face-to-face learning experience to a more digital program with a distance learning format.

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ECRI UPDATE

10 Health Technology Hazards That Should Be on Your Radar

E

CRI Institute recently released its list of the Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2020, highlighting the medical device hazards that the independent, nonprofit organization believes warrant priority attention for the coming year.

“The report highlights problems that we know can occur and can cause harm, possibly serious harm,” notes David Jamison, executive director, medical device selection and evaluation at ECRI Institute. “The problems can, however, be prevented if appropriate measures are taken.” ECRI encourages health care facilities to assess the likelihood of these hazards at their facility and to implement preventive measures, as recommended in the report. “Health technology managers can play a key role in patient care by being proactive when it comes to health technology hazards,” adds Jamison.

Following are the 10 topics covered in ECRI Institute’s list for 2020. Is your organization on the lookout for these hazards?

1. MISUSE OF SURGICAL STAPLERS Internal surgical staplers have been the subject of significant media attention in the past year. News reports, FDA’s release of incident information from its Alternative Summary Reports database,

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and the agency’s actions to reclassify internal surgical stapler models have thrust these devices into the spotlight.

The high profile nature of this hazard, combined with the potential for severe harm, propelled the topic to the top of ECRI’s list.

Staplers are complex devices requiring meticulous technique to operate. Misapplication can lead to potentially fatal intraoperative or postoperative hemorrhaging or leaking.

Often, adverse consequences can be traced to errors in use, such as selecting an incorrect staple size, clamping on tissue that is too thick or too thin, or firing over another instrument.

2. ADOPTION OF POINT-OF-CARE ULTRASOUND IS OUTPACING SAFEGUARDS Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) scanners are changing the practice of health care in many specialties. But the change is happening so quickly that safety policies and practices have struggled to keep up.

POCUS scanners are highly portable, comparatively inexpensive and easy to use – features that have fueled the technology’s rapid growth. However, a lack of oversight may place patients at risk and facilities in jeopardy. Concerns include POCUS not being used when warranted, misdiagnoses, inappropriate use of the modality and overreliance on POCUS when a more comprehensive exam by an imaging specialist is indicated.

3. INFECTION RISKS FROM STERILE PROCESSING ERRORS IN MEDICAL AND DENTAL OFFICES Failure to consistently and effectively reprocess (clean and disinfect or sterilize) contaminated items before use can expose patients to virulent pathogens. In previous editions of its list, ECRI Institute addressed reprocessing challenges in hospital or central sterile processing environments.

This year the organization turned its attention to sterilization process failures in certain ambulatory care settings.

Infection concerns exist in all settings where patients may come in contact with contaminated items, particularly items intended to enter sterile tissue or the vascular system. Yet not all settings have similar resources for infection prevention practices.

Medical and dental offices are among the settings that should be assessed for oversights and improper actions associated with sterilization processes.

4. HEMODIALYSIS RISKS WITH CENTRAL VENOUS CATHETERS – WILL THE HOME DIALYSIS PUSH INCREASE THE DANGERS? Central venous catheters (CVCs) that are used for hemodialysis require significant care and attention to prevent fatal complications. CVCs provide a pathway directly from the outside of the body to the patient’s heart. As a result, the consequences of infection, clotting, disconnection (with a potential for

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

massive blood loss) and air embolism can be severe.

The potential for harm is even more pronounced if hemodialysis patients that use a CVC are treated at home.

While currently uncommon in the U.S., this circumstance has the potential to become more frequent, given a new U.S. government push toward increasing the rates of home dialysis.

5. UNPROVEN SURGICAL ROBOTIC PROCEDURES MAY PUT PATIENTS AT RISK Surgical robotic systems are used to assist surgeons in performing a continually expanding range of procedures. While the use of surgical robots in innovative ways can help advance clinical practice, such uses can also lead to injury or unexpected complications and the potential for poorer long-term outcomes. Health care facilities need robust processes for approving the application of surgical robots in new procedures and for assuring staff competency 6. ALARM, ALERT AND NOTIFICATION OVERLOAD The problem of alarm overload is well known. Just as important to consider, however, is the global notification burden – that is, the combination of alarms, alerts and notifications from all sources. As the number of devices that generate notifications increases, so too does the risk that the clinician will become overwhelmed. A global approach can help prevent the cognitive overload that can lead to clinically significant events being missed.

7. CYBERSECURITY RISKS IN THE CONNECTED HOME HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT Remote patient monitoring technologies are increasingly being used for at-home monitoring. As networkconnected medical technologies such as these move into the home, cybersecurity policies and practices that address the unique challenges involved must be instituted as well.

As with any networked medical device, connected devices used in the home must be protected against threats that could interrupt the flow of data, alter or degrade performance, or expose protected health information.

8. MISSING IMPLANT DATA CAN DELAY OR ADD DANGER TO MRI SCANS Because some implants can heat, move or malfunction when exposed to a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system’s magnetic field, imaging staff must screen patients for implanted devices to avoid harm.

Unfortunately, information about patient implants is often scattered throughout various information systems or records of patient encounters, if it is captured at all. Without a single place within the electronic health record (EHR) to store implant information, care providers have no reliable means for determining the type and location of any implants.

9. MEDICATION ERRORS FROM DOSE TIMING DISCREPANCIES IN EHRS Missed or delayed medication doses can result from discrepancies between the dose

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administration time intended by the prescriber and the time specified within the automatically generated worklist viewed by the nurse. Depending on the patient’s condition and the medication prescribed, these errors can have significant clinical consequences.

Administration times are typically determined by hospital-defined defaults programmed into the EHR. In some systems, the EHR may not allow the prescriber to specify a different time or to view the scheduled default time (to verify if it matches the intended administration time).

10. LOOSE NUTS AND BOLTS CAN LEAD TO CATASTROPHIC DEVICE FAILURES AND SEVERE INJURY The nuts, bolts and screws that hold together medical device components can loosen over time with routine use. Failure to repair or replace loose or missing mechanical fasteners can lead to severe consequences: Devices can tip, fall, collapse or shift during use – any of which could harm people in the vicinity. Over the past two years, ECRI Institute has published nearly two dozen reports involving a wide variety of medical devices with loose fasteners.

This article is adapted from ECRI Institute’s “Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2020” (Health Devices 2019 Sep 26). An Executive Brief version of that report is available for complimentary download at www.ecri. org/2020hazards. The full report, accessible to ECRI Institute members, provides detailed steps that organizations can take to prevent adverse incidents. For more information, contact ECRI Institute at 610-825-6000, ext.

5891, or by email at clientservices@ecri.org.

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

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BIOMED 101

Equipment Disposition Can Provide Savings

BY CHUCK OVEREEM

E

quipment disposition is the process by which equipment is removed from use and physically removed from a hospital or clinic.

There are several reasons to remove equipment. It may be underutilized, obsolete and out of support. There may be newer technology that fits your needs or customer base. In either case, it has to go. Properly disposing of this equipment can help defray the cost of new equipment or simply help recover lost space to provide services. Always assume that an item has value until you prove that it doesn’t.

There are several ways to dispose of equipment. Each has its own merit.

1. Dispose of in a dumpster. Old, broken, unrepairable, obsolete technologies with no reusable parts belong in a dumpster.

2. Redeploy in another area or location. One department’s surplus could be another department’s salvation. This can help to avoid using contingency funds to replace or add needed equipment for cashstrapped departments. You will typically get less selling an item than what you will avoid spending to buy a new piece of equipment. The cost avoidance is the bigger benefit.

3. Trade in. This helps defray the cost of new equipment. When buying new equipment this is one of the easiest ways to dispose of old equipment. It is not always the most cost effective.

4. Auction or sell. The HTM department can sell it outright to the aftermarket or utilize one of several

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“Disposition Companies” who will sell or auction off the equipment and take a part of the proceeds for their services. Selling an item will usually garner a larger sum than a trade-in.

Selling it yourself garners higher rewards. Using a disposition company will clear up space faster, but likely realize less cash in the coffers. With that said, with their vast network of customers, a disposition company could occasionally get you a higher price than selling an item yourself and may succeed in selling items that you have not been able to.

5. Donate. Donations are needed by organizations that serve the poor and underserved populations around the world including in the U.S. Benefits of this method include tax write offs, community goodwill and the good feeling that comes from helping others.

The disposition option that is chosen could mean thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue or cost avoidance to a hospital in the course of a year.

No matter what disposition option you choose, several steps should be followed.

1. Make sure that the item cannot be used in another department.

2. Be sure to remove all patient information from the device.

3. Remove all hospital labels and identification.

4. Remove the device from inventory and document its removal along with the cost avoidance or sale amount to quantify the value of your efforts and

Chuck Overeem ProHealth Care to avoid the cost of wasted time searching for equipment that no longer exists.

5. Notify finance/accounting so it can be properly written off.

As stated earlier, properly disposing of equipment has several benefits for any organization.

Retiring and disposing of old equipment that is costly to maintain saves time and money on repairs as well as aggravation for the hospital staff and patients.

Disposition of equipment opens valuable hospital real estate and allows you to expand existing programs or even open new ones without a costly building project.

Disposition of equipment allows for the purchase of newer equipment.

Proper disposition reclaims the value left in equipment that you no longer use.

If you do not have a disposition program, start one by assigning someone or hiring someone to lead the

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THE BENCH charge and be the point person for all departments. From this point forward, before any equipment is disposed of, this person needs to be made aware so he/she can determine how to proceed. This person will decide if the item can be redeployed, sold or scrapped. Before new equipment is purchased and old equipment is traded-in, this person should try to sell the old equipment. If they can beat the trade-in then sell it, if not take the trade. This point person can do the required documentation to properly retire the equipment.

After the program is established, it could even be expanded to other hospital equipment, including environmental services equipment and food services equipment. All of this equipment, just like medical equipment, gets old, needs to be replaced and still has some value. Our hospital has sold ice cream and gelato machines as well as floor scrubbers and sweepers.

A properly run disposition program regains value from unused and underutilized assets helping to defray the cost of new equipment. It helps regain valuable hospital real-estate so that it can be used for more productive purposes than storage.

It helps keep your equipment inventory current. It allows the hospital to actively redeploy equipment and avoid the cost of purchasing duplicate equipment. It can even garner good will in the community and allow you to help the underserved in the community by donating your used equipment.

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• Electro Surgical Units (ESU) including FT10

• Physiological Monitors

• External Pacemakers

• Most OEM Monitors/ LCD/Surgical Displays

• Most Makes and Models of biomed devices

• EKG Carts ,Pulse Oximeters, Respiratory, and OR Equipment including Smart Pump Tourniquets, and Surgical Light Sources

ISO 9001 : 2015 Certified Phone: 855-813-8100 | Email: biomed@repairmed.net Website: www.repairmed.net

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THE BENCH

WEBINAR WEDNESDAY Series Delivers HTM Knowledge, CE Credits

T

he August 21 Webinar Wednesday presentation delivered great insights about a helpful tool for imaging service engineers. The webinar “Ocean Software – X-Ray QA Simplified” was eligible for 1 credit from the ACI.

Presented by RTI Group AB Global Manager Distributor and Partner Sales Lee Evans, and sponsored by RTI, the 60-minute webinar explained the path from regulatory testing requirements to the generation of a suitable report.

Along the way, examples of different levels of automation were visited.

Attendees also gained an insight into the efficient use of s/w tools in the field of X-ray QA. The webinar was attended by 135 individuals and more have watched a recording of the webinar online.

Attendees were asked ‘What did you like most about today’s webinar?” in a post-webinar survey.

“The presenter drawing the line between what needs to be done and why, and what regulations requires us to do so,” said M. Reynoso, imaging specialist I. “Good information. Interesting to see the software to perform this,” said M. Hoffman, CBET. “The information presented was concise and understandable,” said W. Polcin, Lead Biomedical Technician II. “It seemed like a very versatile tool allowing you to test and store readings from multiple systems with ease,” shared F. Mcvean, business process manager.

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“ I attended today for continuing education.

Thank you very much for providing these webinars.”

T. HEININGE, BIOMEDICAL TECHNICIAN AUTOMATING MEDICAL DEVICE MANAGEMENT Medigate Director of Sales Engineering Salil Panicker presented “Automating Medical Device Management” as part of the Webinar Wedensday series of free educational sessions. Participation in the Medigate-sponsored presentation was eligible for 1 CE credit from the ACI. Panicker discussed key differences and use cases for device inventory and management tools. He also explained the importance of clinical context when inventorying medical devices and unleashing the power of one’s NAC. The webinar drew 178 attendees for the live presentation with more HTM professionals watching a recording of the webinar online.

Attendees were asked “Why did you attend today’s webinar? And, was it worth your time?” The responses centered on gaining more information and education.

“To learn something. It was worth it, the seminar was informative,” said G. Koch, BMET III. “Learn more about the CVA tools and solutions that are out there,” explained J. Ruiz, technology manager.

“I attended today for continuing education. Thank you very much for providing these webinars,” Biomedical Technician T. Heininge said.

“It was definitely worth my time to join, but the material was pretty detailed. I’m not sure how many people were able to follow what he was saying.

It was obvious the presenter was an expert in his field,” Biomedical Coordinator S. Roberts said.

“Interested in learning more about the platform and approach” Operations Manager L. Zipkis said.

“Cybersecurity is a hot item in our field and being able to automate some of that process would be more efficient approach to it,” said K. Mylar, system director healthcare technology.

“I am working toward biomed management. Working on education that will help me grow. Also gathering this information to be able to talk with management on new products and services that are available to our industry,” Biomedical Technician G. Seastrand said.

AEM PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION The Webinar Wednesday session, sponsored by Nuvolo, featured Senior Solution Consultant Kyle Holetz.

Attendees were able to earn 1 CE credit from the ACI for this 60-minute session entitled “Clinical Asset Management: AEM Scheduling and Device Risk Scoring Solution.”

Holetz discussed how implementing

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THE BENCH

DOCTORS Equipment Repair

“ It was great to see the CMMS take a lot of the work out of determining the effectiveness of an AEM program.” S. KEENY, BIOMEDICAL SUPERVISOR an Alternative Equipment Maintenance (AEM) program can improve the effectiveness of a clinical engineering team, but doing so can consume more resources than it saves with legacy CMMS technology. He then demonstrated modern HTM software technology that includes built-in AEM automation functionality that delivers the data-driven AEM program for teams to leverage, saving time and effort.

The webinar had 246 attendees for the live presentation, and the session received an attendee rating of 3.7 on a 5-point scale with 5 being the best possible rating.

Attendees filled out a post-webinar survey in which they were asked, “How much new information did you receive from today’s webinar?”

“I enjoyed seeing Nuvolo’s solution to AEM and learned more about the product,” Clinical Engineer C. Mahoney said.

“It was great to see the CMMS take a lot of the work out of determining the effectiveness of an AEM program” said S. Keeny, biomedical supervisor.

“Refreshed some older understanding and introduced some newish concepts. Looking forward to more scoop on that CMS/Service study on effectiveness of AEM in the clinical arena. We used some elements of this concept as far back as the early 90’s when I was a hospital biomed. Effort to increase utilization was very high back then. Looks like strides have been

made,” Principal FSE H. Tucker said.

“It was very informative concerning the AEM programs being implemented and how the schedule change is being justified,” said J. Vogel, Biomedical Technician III. “As a student, I knew little about AEM until today’s webinar. Thanks!” student G. Satkally-McAdams stated.

“Some interesting ideas on patient safety and data trends,” said C. Aaron, biomed technician.

“This webinar was very informative.

We are currently moving to AEM based PM scheduling and the presentation gave some valuable insight,” Lead Technician of Clinical Engineering E. Bican stated.

“As we already have an AEM, this information identified new gaps in our process and gave us insight into some opportunities moving forward,” said J. Newell, interim director of clinical engineering.

For more information about Webinar Wednesday, including a calendar of upcoming sessions and recordings of previous presentations, visit WebinarWednesday.Live.

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SHOP TALK POWERED BY

VALLEYLAB FORCE FX-C My shop has just taken delivery of several Force FX-C units and we’re looking into test cables; one in particular seems to be sourced through a monopoly that necessitates we buy a $500+ kit that includes several pieces that we have no use for. By chance, could someone here please direct us to an alternative source for REM-plug-to-two-banana-plug cables – both with and without the center pin – as a standalone purchase? Medtronic insists we could cut up REM pads and create our own cables, but – and I could be wrong – it seems to me that doing so would lead to our banana plugs having half the conductive material versus a professional cable, thus impacting our results?

Q:

AGFA DRYSTAR 5302 I need help with a CDM initialization error on DS 5302 AGFA printer. I have removed output module from three different printers to replace on this particular printer. It will work for one or two days and the error will resurface. Can you help me?

Q: A:

To correct CDM ERROR remove the output module and then remove the CDM module clean it with the surface with mentholated spirit. It will take care of it.

A:

Try a software update.

A:

It is very common to use banana plugs on a patient pad cable for testing. If you have a problem, contact any other biomedical equipment company that sells ESU testing accessories.

Q:

A:

A:

A:

I’ve always just made test cables from the actual sets the user has. Same for AED/defib test cables.

A:

THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC CRYOSTAR NX70 Does anyone have a service manual for a Cryostar NX70?

Specifically, I need to flush the brine system and I may need to replace the brine pump.

A:

Fluke sells all the accessories as a kit for around $160. Part number 2202009. I’m not sure if they sell the parts individually.

Q: A:

I had an HM550 (I think it was) whose brine pump wouldn’t pump. I disconnected the pump, hooked up a peristaltic pump (temporarily) and flushed through a bunch of water until it began flowing freely. I followed that by flushing with Tyfoxit. I then reconnected the brine pump and filled with Tyfoxit and it worked.

In that instance, it was not necessary to replace the pump.

SAMSUNG HM70A What OS is this unit running and is it possible for IT to do a security scan on unit to check for any cyberthreats to our network?

I believe these are on a Win 7 platform. These will most likely do a security check on them anyway. Should they push security updates though, that may cause problems.

I was under the impression it might be Linux. Would you know how to get to the Windows desktop so that we could run a security check on the unit? I can’t find anything on this unit for getting out of the user software.

I am certain it is not Linux given it gives access to Windows through service. You can hold down CTRL HMTOAVIOOO if that does not provide access to more options then you have a newer rev which will require you to call for a one time password.

You can check if the service tab offers a barcode. That will be what is needed.

SHOP TALK

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

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ROUNDTABLE

ROUNDTABLE Test Equipment

I

n this installment of the monthly roundtable article experts from throughout the HTM industry share their insights and opinions regarding test equipment.

Participating in the roundtable article are Pronk Technologies Vice President Sales and Marketing Greg Alkire, Radcal Corporation President and CEO Curt Harkless, Datrend Systems Inc. Director of Business Development Owen Liu , BC Group International Inc. Vice President Sales and Marketing Ken O’Day and Fluke Biomedical Global Training Manager Jerry Zion.

Q: WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO LOOK IN A TEST EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER? ALKIRE: Having spent the last 25 years in the medical device industry and 16 of those focusing on test equipment for HTM engineers, without a doubt the most important thing to look for in a test equipment company is how firmly they stand behind their products. The easiest way to determine how a company stands

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Greg Alkire Pronk Technologies

behind its products is to ask what level of warranty is included in the price of the device. The bare minimum one-year parts and labor warranty should be considered a lack of confidence in the reliability of the product given the fact there are some test equipment companies offering four years of warranty at the same or lesser price point.

HARKLESS: Since your test equipment represents a major investment that is

critical to your business for many years to come, one should look for a partner who is proven, stable, reliable and established.

Consider the lifecycle of the relationship including service, repair and calibration that are critical to operating and maintaining test equipment over the long run. As diagnostic imaging continues to grow and evolve, the requirements of your test equipment may grow and will likely evolve as well. One should select test equipment from a line that is modular, interchangeable and extensible to meet changing needs.

LIU: Ease of use, platform integration, path to upgrade, and user customizable automation are some of the most important areas when considering test equipment. The current generation of Datrend test equipment is centered around a 10-inch Android tablet. This large high-resolution screen completely changes the user experience of interacting with simulators and analyzers. With more and more users being comfortable with smartphones and tablets, creating user-friendly apps that are simple and intuitive has really improved the usability

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ROUNDTABLE ZION: Electrical safety analyzer, DVM/ DMM, pressure and/or flow measurement devices, patient simulator, defibrillator/ pacer analyzer and hand tools.

of test equipment. With our platform running on a tablet and really taking advantage of the technology has opened the doors to improved software delivery, software upgrades, support, training and user customization for long-term usage of our solution.

O’DAY: There are many things that need to be considered when evaluating a manufacturer and they are all equally important. The manufacturer should have a good reputation of standing behind their products and not frequently obsoleting a model requiring you to purchase their next latest and greatest. Offering an upgrade path for existing products is a more cost-effective solution. Do they manufacture under published and known quality control systems? Are they registered with and inspected by the FDA and follow the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) as well as comply with the QSR (Quality Systems Regulation) 21CFR820? Do they give you good cost of ownership? The initial cost is only part of what you will pay. How long will it last?

How much does it cost to maintain? Can it be upgraded?

ZION: Do they have the equipment to do the job you need – a full line to answer your needs; what is their quality system including metrology; how do they support you with training, service and tech support?

Q: WHAT ARE SOME BASIC TEST EQUIPMENT DEVICES EVERY HTM PROFESSIONAL NEEDS? ALKIRE: HTM engineers have such a wide range of departments and off-site facilities they support on a daily basis, and it just isn’t practical to share test equipment. It is a must that they each have their own portable safety analyzers, ones that can be programmed to automatically run the facility testing protocols and capture results into an electronic report. A portable safety analyzer combined with a voltmeter, a set of hand tools, small multi-parameter vital signs simulator and a pressure meter would provide each engineer with the basic equipment needed to address most tasks they may encounter without having to return to the shop to finish their work.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE NEWEST TEST EQUIPMENT PRODUCTS HTM PROFESSIONALS MAY WANT TO CONSIDER PURCHASING AND WHY?

Curt Harkless Radcal Corporation

HARKLESS: In X-ray imaging, basic measurements are aimed at assessing the beam spectral characteristics for appropriateness to the applications and machine settings under study. As such, the basic measurements include dose, dose rate, kV and HVL. In this field, integrated sensors are now available that provide these metrics in a single exposure and for a range of diagnostic systems including radiography, mammography, fluoroscopy and dental. Other basic equipment might include ion chambers tailored for basic measurements such as CT or mammography.

LIU: Electrical safety has still got to be at the top of our list. Almost everything managed under a biomedical engineering department requires scheduled electrical safety testing. All-in-one patient simulators and defibrillator analyzers also form part of the core equipment used by biomeds.

O’DAY: HTM professionals should have a safety analyzer, DMM, set of hand tools (including standard and metric), thermometer, pressure vacuum meter and a patient simulator (number of parameters should include the parameters of the devices being tested). Beyond that, many of the other test devices can be shared or placed at test stations within the department. Some of those devices include analyzers for ESU, defibrillators, infusion pumps, anesthetic agents, ventilators and a variety of specialty simulators (SP02, Cardiac Output ECG, etc.).

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

ALKIRE: Newer test equipment can help significantly reduce test time. The very small, portable Safe-T Sim Automated Safety Analyzer eliminates hand writing tests performed and test records/results.

The FT-2 FlowTrax can dramatically reduce both the equipment footprint and the IV pump test time to complete the volume and occlusion tests required for preventive maintenance. Both products are multi-functional, eliminating the need to carry extra equipment. The Safe-T Sim includes a full-featured 12-lead ECG/ Respiration simulator and the FT-2 includes both a full-featured pressure meter, as well as, temperature meter.

HARKLESS: In recent years, there are two significant trends in diagnostic imaging that are shaping the evolution of quality measurement on these systems.

Simultaneously, systems are becoming more complex (i.e. combination modes for mammography) and certain subsystems are becoming increasingly stable and reliable (i.e. kV generation). These changes make some measurements more routine and others more important, Dose Area Product (DAP) for instance. As a result,

Owen Liu Datrend Systems Inc.

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53

ROUNDTABLE HTM professionals should consider planning for expanded DAP requirements and choose instruments that support these measurements.

LIU: Our ESU analyzer, vPad-RF, and our Infant Incubator Analyzer, vPad-IN, have proved to be very popular with our customers. Both electrosurgical units and Incubators have very strict IEC testing standards, plus both types of devices can be dangerous to the patient or even the user if they are not tested and maintained properly.

Ken O’Day BC Group International Inc.

O’DAY: ESU generators seem to be one of the most rapidly changing products.

OEMs are introducing new devices with strange wave forms and requiring high accuracy levels for calibration. There are many testers on the market that were designed to test previous generations of those devices but no longer have the ability or accuracy to properly test the new models. Anesthesia machines are another device requiring a newer approach than what was available just a couple of years ago.

ZION: New test instrument designs help capture the measurements that matter, for example, innovations in the medical device being tested. That’s why our gas flow/ pressure analyzer now includes the option of adding gas concentration measurements.

It’s also why our defib/pacer analyzer includes the option of including variable loads – defibrillators have changed.

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Q: WHAT ARE SOME TEST EQUIPMENT FEATURES BIOMEDS LOOK FOR OR EXPECT? ALKIRE: One feature of test equipment that is often overlooked is the uncertainty (aka accuracy) of the simulations or measurements and how they stand up to the medical device accuracy and/or the manufacturers’ requirements for test accuracy. The general rule of thumb is a 4:1 ratio between the test equipment and the device under test (DUT) as this can ensure that the accuracy of the test equipment does not influence whether the DUT truly passes or fails the manufacturer’s specified accuracy. This ensures that when making calibration adjustments to the DUT, the measurements referenced are within the requirements listed. Verifying that the test equipment meets the accuracy requirements listed in the medical device service manual and/or making sure it is 4 times more accurate is something that should be evaluated prior to servicing any device.

HARKLESS: Biomeds are increasingly aware of their total workflow and how the interface between different procedures affects their efficiency. For this reason, biomeds should examine how their measurements are made and how they flow into the final product (typically a report).

Flexible instruments now provide multiple mechanisms for automating report generation or transferring data between applications.

LIU: When you participate in an HTM conference, it’s no surprise to see a large number of CMMS product offerings. We also believe this technology is key to the success of biomeds with an ever-increasing number of devices to manage and the continuation of staffing shortages in our industry. Datrend is the only company on the market today to offer on-device, end-to-end CMMS integration. This means the users can download the equipment data, work orders, PM instructions and checklist tasks all from the same user interface they would use for controlling their test device. And after the work is complete, users can upload the test reports back to their CMMS system directly from the analyzer’s user interface

to automatically close out the work orders.

This simplified process can save users a significant amount of time at the end of a shift.

O’DAY: Handheld devices and test equipment that interfaces with CMMS software are becoming more and more important to biomeds. Almost all our BC Biomedical test equipment has communication capability now but going forward, all units will be designed with built-in Bluetooth capability.

Probably the most important feature of any test device is the ability to meet the testing needs now and the future. None of us know for sure what the future will bring, so it is important to have an upgrade path available for their existing test devices. This will extend the life of the tester plus save a great deal of money by not having to replace a tester every couple of years to get the next, more capable device.

ZION: Biomeds should look at the whole situation and evaluate equipment based on how they will need to use it. If they are mobile, it’s not just portability that matters. What about having a battery and not having to plug in? What about the life of the battery, will it last all day? Saving data? Can they read the data and results quickly and easily?

Q: CAN YOU TELL READERS ABOUT ONE PRODUCT OR UPDATE YOUR COMPANY OFFERS HTM PROFESSIONALS? ALKIRE: We really believe in providing products that can help make biomedical engineers’ jobs easier today and also continuously focusing on new technologies for the future. We believe that every customer that has invested in our products should benefit from new advancements we develop. A good example is our safety analyzer, Safe-T Sim. We have introduced additional tests and increased the maximum current rating on the product, and we offer these upgrades, free of charge, during the annual preventative maintenance service. This also applies to our app-based software products as well.

We added 1,000 record storage capability to our Safe-T Sim App, and we provide those upgrades free of charge to our customers. We are working on new features

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ROUNDTABLE on our other products that will support emerging needs of the HTM community and, as always, will make sure the customer that purchased our very first product 16 years ago, the SimCube NIBP simulator, has a path to upgrade their device.

HARKLESS: Radcal recently revamped its flagship product line to include a standalone instrument, the AccuGold Touch Series. Sporting the largest touchscreen in the industry, these systems support all Accu-Gold Series sensors including a dual radiography/mammography multi-sensor and the largest selection of ion chambers in the industry. Recent updates to the sensor family are two DAP solutions, the 10x60 DAP and the DAPCheck Plus. The 10x60 DAP is aimed at small beam systems such as CBCT while the DAPCehck Plus is aimed at satisfying the new JHACO fluoroscopy requirement.

LIU: Datrend has recently released our vPad-EQT app. This is a brand-new app for our vPad-ES/ES2/Rugged/Rugged2 electrical safety analyzers has allowed us to elevate electrical safety testing to new levels by offering: recall of the previous year’s test sequence and device data when a previously tested control number is entered; fully customizable autosequences; simultaneous connections of B, BF, CF applied parts; customized inspection checklists; test record management; built-in user guide and support for all commonly used testing standards.

O’DAY: BC Group is truly a one-stop biomed shop. We design, manufacture, calibrate and repair all our own test devices in addition to all our competitors’ products.

We also offer over 75 product lines with devices we do not manufacture. Our three latest products are the AA-8000 family of portable anesthetic agent analyzers, our new patented IPA-3400 Infusion Pump Analyzer and our NIBP-1040 Multiparameter Simulator. The NIBP1040 provides 13 simulations in one small battery operated device.

ZION: Fluke Biomedical believes in continuous improvement. Innovation doesn’t stop once a stellar product is launched. We continue to improve our

provides a means to establish predictable overall costs through the life of the instrument and avoid large upfront expenditures. Radcal is piloting its Red Carpet Leasing Program as one such example of an increasingly popular business model.

LIU: Keep a look-out for Datrend in 2020 as we will continue to improve our test automation features, enhance the features and operation of our existing apps and introduce more innovative, new products.

Jerry Zion Fluke Biomedical designs to give them the ability to test new technologies. We do this by working with leading medical device manufacturers. For example; we added new-to-market R-curves to our flagship patient simulator ProSim 8 and rolled them out as firmware updates.

We have continuously improved our workflow automation offing since 1987.

Q: WHAT ELSE DO YOU THINK TECHNATION READERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TEST EQUIPMENT GOING INTO 2020?

ALKIRE: We have heard from our customer base that the trend toward automation and electronic records is becoming even more important. We are very focused on meeting those needs building on our 16 years of designing the world’s smallest, most rugged test devices in the HTM market while maintaining our substantial advantage of extremely easy-to-use devices.

Providing both the small footprint and connectivity to CMMS systems and electronic documentation in a flexible way with our portable safety analyzer has proven to be extremely important to our customers. We believe expanding on these features into 2020 will benefit a majority of the HTM community going forward.

HARKLESS: Readers may want to consider alternatives to ownership of their QA instruments going into 2020. As in the mobile phone industry, costs for service and calibration of your instrument throughout its lifetime can easily exceed the purchase price of the equipment. For this reason, leasing your instrument

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

O’DAY: The need for innovative test equipment is not going to go away anytime soon. When looking for your next test device, take the time to shop and compare.

Look for the best value and consider the total cost of ownership before making the purchase. The ability to purchase an item today that can be upgraded down the road to meet some new testing situation is invaluable. Too many manufacturers just obsolete a product and then state the only solution is to purchase their newest product and the cycle continues. When considering software that communicates and stores your test records, look for something that will work with all manufacturers products and not just limited to the products that one OEM manufactures.

And lastly, do yourself and the country a favor and buy USA made products and support our country’s manufacturing efforts.

ZION: In the category of workflow automation, the notion of capturing failures, analyzing these to get failure rates and long-term trending to be able to predict medical device failures and plan down time for quicker repairs to control costs is possible through end-to-end interoperability with CMMS systems. It’s about more than just simple compliance with regulations. On the topic of training your newest employees, think about shortening learning curves. How easy is it to access effective training? Training should make it quick and easy to learn how to use test instruments and understand concepts.

Whether the training is on-demand (training available when you have time), live online (webinars) or live on-location training events. We’ve got your back.

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2020 VISION T

here is a lot to be gained for the HTM professional who attends state, regional or national conventions, conferences or symposiums. The opportunity for career growth, networking and continuing education credits are just a few benefits. The events are normally a chance to rub elbows with counterparts who you don’t see often, an occasion to collect new contacts and connections for career enhancement and a source for learning. The reasons for attending these affairs are numerous.

Some examples of events that can benefit HTM professionals are the AAMI Exchange, the MD Expo (either the spring or fall conference) and a local or state association meeting. Each one checks off most boxes for personal gain and enjoyment. They are often hosted in nice places, which is an added bonus, and often include some meals and interesting keynotes.

As an HTM professional, if you had only three HTM-focused events you could attend in 2020, what would they be? TechNation suggests the annual AAMI Exchange, MD Expo (or ICE for imaging professionals) and a state or regional HTM association’s conference.The options are plentiful and the potential benefits that

3

Conferences Every Biomed Should Attend

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

can be derived from each event can further an attendee’s career and knowledge. There are also other annual events offered by organizations that are not necessarily HTM-focused, but still beneficial to biomeds and others.

The costs of the events vary and the accommodation, meal plans and course offerings vary. Organizers are always focused on making the event a fun and enjoyable experience and there are often arrangements with a local hotel or resort as part of the package. Keynote speakers are another value-added component and study courses or qualified credits that are applicable to certification is yet another benefit.

In addition to providing valuable networking opportunities to

established HTM professionals, many of these conferences help introduce new biomeds and prospective biomeds to the larger HTM community.

2020 AAMI EXCHANGE The 2019 AAMI Exchange event took place in Cleveland, Ohio. In previous years, the well-attended event was known as the AAMI Annual Conference & Expo.

AAMI says that the new name reflects their “commitment to connect the full gamut of AAMI stakeholders – biomedical and clinical engineers, technicians, cybersecurity and sterilization experts, and hospital administrators and managers and the industry’s leading service and solution providers.”

The 2020 AAMI Exchange event will take place in the Big Easy; New Orleans.

The conference will run June 12-15.

Registration and housing will open in

“ The AAMI Exchange will have over 80 education sessions. We will also have the IoT Xperience and VR/AR Theater on the expo floor.”

SHERRIE SCHULTE, VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATION AT AAMI

AAMI EXCHANGE

December 2019. The theme of the 2020 event will be “Engaging Minds.

Empowering Success.” It is expected to attract 3,000 attendees and 200 exhibitors.

Certification is on the agenda.

“We will offer the CBET Study Course and offer the exam to be completed after the course if a person would like to take it. We will have other new experiences to announce that will strengthen HTM core competencies and drive new leadership skills in the near future,” says Sherrie Schulte, CAE, vice president of education at AAMI. “We will be in New Orleans at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Our headquarter hotel is the Hilton New Orleans Riverside,” Schulte says.

The event will offer a wealth of courses and exciting cutting-edge technology experiences.

“The AAMI Exchange will have over 80 education sessions. We will also have the IoT Xperience and VR/AR Theater on the expo floor. The Exchange will kick off with the welcome reception, which will be on the expo floor. We will also have our annual awards celebration and appreciation reception at Barcadia in New Orleans,” Schulte says.

AAMI’s choice of the famous city is based on several criteria.

“New Orleans is a great location for many reasons. Besides its culture, food, fun, and entertainment, New Orleans is an untapped market. AAMI has not been here in quite a while and we like to visit all areas of the country in order to be able to offer top-notch education opportunities to the HTM field and an expo experience in the area. New Orleans and the nearby area have world-class medical schools and medical systems that will be able to participate in the conference. We also have strong industry partners that are in region,” Schulte says.

THE IMAGING CONFERENCE AND EXPO (ICE) The 2020 Imaging Conference and Expo (ICE) will take place in beautiful Scottsdale,

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MD EXPO HOUSTON

GBIS TECH EXPO

One of the central roles of statewide HTM associations and societies is to bring its biomed community, and vendors, together once a year for a special event.

Arizona. The city, which lies outside of Phoenix, offers upscale shopping, eclectic restaurants, art galleries and a touristy area called Old Town Scottsdale. There is a lot for visitors to see and do.

The conference will take place at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort on February 9-11.

The event invites imaging directors, radiology administrators and imaging engineers from hospital imaging departments, freestanding imaging centers and group practices to attend. The conference offers the opportunity to earn CE credits from the ASRT and ACI (pending approval).

The ICE event bills itself as the only conference to bring together imaging engineers with leaders in imaging management. The 2019 conference brought together nearly 500 attendees, including exhibitors.

Attendees will enjoy networking, a CRES prep course, an exhibit hall and a grand finale party. There will be as many as 30 education opportunities. Presenters at the event promise to provide actionable information that can benefit imaging professionals.

There is also a comprehensive exhibitor hall featuring nearly 100 vendors showcasing the latest in technology. The event also includes the ICE 18 Leadership Summit and Reverse Expo. ICE 18 includes more than 40 imaging directors from premier health care systems around the country.

The conference offers complimentary admission for all hospital employees, members of the military, students and imaging center personnel. The ICE event is surely the imaging conference to

attend each year. For more information, visit AttendICE.com.

MD EXPO MD Expo strives to provide healthcare technology management professionals with a unique, intimate and rewarding conference second to none. 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 HTM. Choosing which Expo to attend may come down to logistics or the more convenient time, but with two per year, there is some flexibility. MD Expo is free for hospital employees, members of the military and students.

The 2020 spring Expo will take place in Irvine, California from April 20-22. The Fall Expo will be in Tampa, Florida from November 8-10.

MD Expo has been an industry fixture for nearly 20 years. The fall 2019 event included more than 45 hours of education, a keynote presentation, a signature networking event, a block party and CBET review. It was held at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor. For more information about MD Expo Baltimore, see Page 12.

The event’s keynote speaker was Anthony J. Montagnolo, chief operating officer and executive vice president at ECRI Institute. Montagnolo’s presentation was titled “Crossing the Health Technology Chasm; Building a Bridge to the Future.”

Attendance at an MD Expo, in the

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THE IMAGING CONFERENCE AND EXPO spring or fall, provides a great chance to rub elbows with other HTM professionals and earn valuable CE credits.

STATE GROUPS GET IT RIGHT One of the central roles of statewide HTM associations and societies is to bring its biomed community, and vendors, together once a year for a special event. Call it a conference or symposium, these state events are usually the culmination of a lot of work by the leadership and select members of the state biomed group. It is often the one time that biomeds from all corners of a state are in one place at one time.

These annual get-togethers offer a variety of activities, educational opportunities and networking.

Some of the larger annual events are hosted by the California Medical Instrumentation Association (CMIA), Florida Biomedical Society (FBS), The Clinical Engineering Association of Illinois (CEAI), Indiana Biomedical Society, Biomedical Association of Wisconsin (BAW) and the North Carolina Biomedical Association (NCBA), to name just a few.

The Sunshine State will see it’s 2019 Florida Biomedical Society Symposium held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. The three-day event includes a full roster of education courses, a Saturdaymorning reception with scholarship presentations and a BMET of the Year presentation. A keynote presentation is also a feature of the Saturday session. The CBET exam can be taken on Sunday. A vendor exhibit hall and Epcot America Pavilion reception are also features of the annual conference.

The 2020 CMIA conference happens January 24-25 at the Crowne Plaza San Diego. The event will include a keynote presentation by The Joint Commission’s Acting Director, Department of Engineering, Herman McKenzie. The 2020 Educational Conference and Exhibitor Fair also includes 24 educational sessions with continuing education credits. It will also

NCBA SYMPOSIUM

host outreach events designed to introduce junior high and high school students to the biomed field and 75 vendors. There is also a networking event and golf tournament.

With nine chapters and 502 members, CMIA is a large group to bring together.

Visit their website at CMIA.org for more conference details.

The Indiana Biomedical Society will host its 29th annual conference from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on January 25, 2020, at the Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre Hotel.

The cost of the conference with full membership is $65.

For biomeds in the Aloha State, the second annual Hawai’i Healthcare Technology and Facilities Engineering Expo will be held on February 20, 2020. A golf tournament will follow the next day. The conference will be held at the Sheraton Waikiki and the tournament will be at the Ewa Beach Golf Club.

August saw the annual CEAI conference take place at the Drury Lane Theatre and Conference Center in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois. The conference saw a who’s who of educational presenters and panel speakers. It also saw a large vendor presence and networking opportunities, including a poker event and a scholarship lunch.

The conference had a special focus on women in HTM with a special panel discussion on the topic The 41st annual symposium of the North Carolina Biomedical Association (NCBA) took place in August of 2019. It was a three-day event at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina. The symposium included the Mike McCoy Golf Tournament, a vendor exhibit hall with breakfast, poolside networking, three lunches and an annual business meeting with awards and scholarship presentations.

The 2019 NCBA symposium included six educational tracks; each comprised of five half-day sessions. The vendor hall featured approximately 90 display booths.

North Carolina’s neighbor to the south

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puts on an annual conference as well. The 2019 Healthcare Technology Management Association of South Carolina conference was held in Columbia, South Carolina on May 3. It included nine educational classes, a keynote luncheon and a breakfast.

The Colorado Association of Biomedical Equipment Technicians (CABMET) held its 17th symposium in August of 2019, which marked the group’s 45th year as an organization. The 2019 event included 23 classes geared toward BMETs, ISEs supervisors and managers. More than 35 vendors participated. The CABMET Symposium also included a poker tournament and golf tournament as well as a picnic.

The Georgia Biomedical Instrumentation Society holds an annual GBIS Tech Expo. The 2019 event was August 16-17 at the Central Georgia Technical College. For more information about the GBIS event, see Page 24.

The Gateway Biomedical Society 2019 symposium was held at the Marriot Saint Louis West hotel in St. Louis on October 29, 2019. The event offered lunch and educational classes with the opportunity to earn five CEU credits.

In November, the sixth annual 2019 Oregon Biomedical Association Expo and Vendor Fair was held in Portland. It offered educational sessions and opportunities to network with colleagues.

State and regional HTM associations have a lot to offer.

If you had to pick only three HTM conferences to attend in 2020, the end result would provide a laundry list of benefits including networking, continuing education, exhibit hall access to the latest products and solutions and more.

Now is a great time to plan for the upcoming year. Make attending a professional conference one of your goals and reap all the beneifits that come with it.

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CAREER CENTER

Year End Evaluations and Asking for that Raise!

BY JENIFER BROWN

I

f you believe that you should be paid more for your work and want to do something about it, you have two choices. You can find a new, higher paying job or ask for raise. Both of these choices can introduce new anxieties, but they are each a gateway to new opportunity. But if you like your current employer and believe you can grow there, it’s often a good idea to ask for raise. After all, your employer may not know that you’re dissatisfied with your pay until you speak up.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT TIME TO ASK When you do ask for a raise, you need to choose your timing. What better time than the end of year evaluations! Make sure you also ask yourself these questions as you’re identifying the right time to ask for a raise.

How is the financial health of the company/hospital? If the company is not doing well, this is not the time to ask for a raise. As an employee, you may be aware of the company’s financial health. You should look for warning signs, such as cutbacks in spending or layoffs. Check the news for stories about your employer or industry. Do company research and, if possible, look at financial reports.

How is your manager’s workload? If you know that your manager is under a lot of stress or focused on too many things right now, it may not be the time to ask for a raise. Paying attention to your manager’s moods and identifying how to help them demonstrates a level of maturity that will be useful to mention in your conversation about compensation.

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GET SALARY TRENDS By learning about the salary trend for your job title within your city, you will have a foundation for understanding the monetary value of your work. From there, take the following steps: • Compare what you’re currently being paid to the trends you find. Where you fall within that range may affect the increase in pay that you ask for.

• Consider your education, years of experience, years you’ve worked for your current employer and any specialized skills or attributes you bring to the table. These all add value by increasing your ability to perform the job. Ideally, your employer would take them into account when determining your compensation.

• Make a list of your accomplishments, taking note of which ones added the most value to the organization. When possible, use numbers to illustrate an accomplishment.

• Identify a salary range or percentage increase in pay that you’d be happy with. Note that 3% is considered an average or even generous pay increase.

That shouldn’t necessarily deter you from asking for more if you believe your current pay is significantly out of alignment with what you could earn, but it can give you an idea of where to start.

SET A MEETING It’s ideal to ask for a raise in person and in private. If you’re not in the same location as your manager, have the conversation over a video call, if possible.

Do not ask for a raise without setting

Jenifer Brown CEO and Founder of Health Tech Talent Management an appointment on the calendar first. The best setting is a room with a closed door.

Don’t discuss it in common areas, such as a kitchen or hallway. If you can avoid it, don’t ask for a raise in an email.

PREPARE WHAT TO SAY You should prepare what you’re going to say to get a raise. Go into this conversation knowing that you deserve a raise and communicate your confidence.

Focus on the professional rather than personal reasons why you deserve this raise. Follow up with specifics: cite the research you’ve done on salary trends, and examples of your work that justify a raise.

Include an actual metric if possible in percentage or dollar amount that makes the value of your work clear. This could be in either money you made for the company or savings to the organization.

BE READY FOR QUESTIONS If you’ve asked for a raise at a good time

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and given evidence that you deserve to be paid more, you should expect your manager to give your request careful consideration.

You can expect them to ask you follow-up questions, such as inquiring about the details of your recent accomplishments or the salary research you’ve done.

You can also expect there to be some negotiation. Listen carefully to how your manager responds to your request. If you feel intimidated at any point, return back to your evidence to strengthen your case. Ask your own questions to understand where they’re coming from. Phrases such as “Can you tell me more about…” can create space in the conversation for more understanding.

If a raise doesn’t seem possible at this time, you may consider asking about other elements of your compensation, such as vacation time or flexible hours.

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THANK YOUR MANAGER Regardless of how the conversation goes, end it by thanking your manager for their time. Later that day or the next, send them a follow-up email that recaps your reasons for asking for a raise and includes a summary of the conversation you had.

If your manager needs to ask someone else about your raise, this email will make it easier for them to have a conversation on your behalf. If they rejected your request for a raise, this email can serve as a record of the conversation. You may decide to request a raise again at a later date, and you can reference this email at that point.

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20/20 IMAGING INSIGHTS Lifecycle of an Ultrasound Probe

BY MATT TOMORY

U

ltrasound transducers are highly complex, Class ll medical devices that we see all the time on television, in health care facilities and even throughout this and other periodicals.

Have you ever given thought to how they are designed, manufactured, tested and repaired?

Innovatus Imaging maintains two facilities dedicated to ultrasound probes: Our FDA-registered Center for Design and Manufacturing in Denver, Colorado and our Center of Excellence for Ultrasound Repair in Tulsa, Oklahoma which, together, combine to address the entire lifecycle of transducers including design, engineering, manufacturing and finally restoration to OEM form, fit and function.

A transducer begins life as a series of user needs, intended use(s) and requirements or design inputs and ultimately ends as a finished product, but there is a tremendous amount of work and testing that occurs in between. This includes electrical, mechanical, acoustic and chemical verifications and validations. We need to ensure we are manufacturing a safe and effective product in which output equals input or did I make the transducer correctly? Further, it’s critical that the product meets user needs and intended use(s), or did I make the correct product? Our Denver facility manufactures ultrasound probes from concept to production and must follow FDA regulations every step of the way.

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Many of these same manufacturing processes and philosophies are implemented when we engineer solutions for ultrasound probe restoration. The objective is to return a probe to OEM form, fit and function and not significantly change safety, performance or intended use. Because we are a manufacturer, we have all the necessary instruments, knowledge, training and processes to ensure this outcome as well as to design and manufacture proprietary test and repair fixtures based on the specific needs of various OEM makes and models.

Let’s look at a component which may appear simple: the transducer cable. There are one-size-fits-all solutions available, but there are many electrical parameters (characteristic impedance, DC resistance, shielding) and physical characteristics (length, diameter, color) which differ from probe to probe and OEM to OEM. Using sophisticated instruments, we benchmark new OEM cables to determine their specifications and then design to those specifications. These cables are then stress tested using customized “torture” devices as well as undergoing electrical and acoustic verification. In fact, we currently manufacture over 60 different transducer cables to ensure OEM-like performance.

Plastics and lens materials may seem simple as well until you research the dozens of OEM recommended cleaners and disinfectants for the hundreds of probes we restore. All materials used must be not only compatible with

Matt Tomory Innovatus Imaging

recommended cleaners and disinfectants but ISO 10993 compliant (biocompatible).

Once our Design and Manufacturing Center completes and approves a material or process, it then transfers to our ISO 13485:2016 registered Ultrasound Repair Center to be implemented into our probe restoration processes. This is continuous as new devices enter the market and will have different characteristics and designs which we will have to engineer.

By being an ultrasound probe OEM, we understand the entire lifecycle of transducers and, after over 150,000 probe repairs to date, we understand not only how they fail but how to restore them to provide many additional years of patient care.

MATT TOMORY is the Vice President of Ultrasound Center of Excellence for Innovatus Imaging.

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CYBERSECURITY Risk vs. Vulnerability

BY JOSEPH E. FISHEL

M

any see risk and vulnerability as the same thing. Risk can be defined as the intentional interaction with uncertainty. Uncertainty is a potential, unpredictable and uncontrollable outcome. Risk is an aspect of action taken in spite of uncertainty. Risk perception is the subjective judgment people make about the severity and probability of a risk and may vary from person to person. Vulnerability can be defined as the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally. Both are a perception or a possibility, but they aren’t the same.

In the medical equipment/cyber field we have several risk categories. Three common risk categories are PHI risk, clinical risk and mission-critical risk.

Combining risk and devices with an identified vulnerability provides a higher measure of risk/vulnerability to make decisions on.

PHI risk can be broken down into many categories anywhere from 3 to 18.

The categories can add up to a total risk score. This risk is identified on each model of device. When entering in your system don’t use a blank field for no PHI. Enter a 0. This way a blank means it wasn’t rated and you can easily search on devices that need to be assessed.

These ratings are provided by the biomedical department and may differ from institution to institution. Here is an example of categories for rating a device:

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1. Accessibility of the equipment. Is it bolted down such as a CT scanner, somewhat mobile such as an ultrasound or totally portable such as a laptop?

2. How many PHI fields are on the device 1-3, 4-8 or 9 or more. Many of these are personal information (PI) or protected health information (PHI). There are 1,750 fields in the header of a DICOM file so they are always high.

3. How many records can the device retain 1 to 50, 51 to 499 over 500. If the device is lost, stolen or hacked these devices are highly reportable and carry major fines. I have seen fines at $4,000 per file so if a device has over 500 files this can a $2 million fine for one device.

4. Other categories could be the number of USB ports, hard drives, ethernet connections, whether the vendor can VPN into the device and more.

Clinical risks are defined as those devices that if it stops working or fails it can cause death or impairment to a patient. Here are the categories and some examples of these devices. It is a Joint Commission requirement to risk your equipment.

1. Life support is the highest. Examples include defibrillators, ventilators and anesthesia units.

2. High risk devices can be lab analyzers, imaging equipment and IV pumps.

3. Medium risk devices can be patient monitors and vital signs monitors.

Joseph E. Fishel, CBET, MBA HTM Manager for Sutter Health eQuip Services

4. Low risk devices include sequential compression devices, beds, stretchers, OR tables and other devices that can be swapped out when they fail.

5. No risk devices are devices such as centrifuges, tube shakers and lab incubators.

Mission-critical risk can differ from site to site. These are devices that if they go down it puts patient care at risk.

Some hospitals are designated as a stroke center, so the CT scanner has to be up all the time. Should one of these CTs develop a cyber risk it can cause a hospital to go on bypass delaying the patient’s diagnoses and care as well as affect revenue stream. If a hospital has too many bypasses for down equipment, they lose this certification and credentialing. This is a yes or no question for each device. Yes, it is mission critical or no it isn’t. Again,

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each facility/biomed department decides this.

IS/IT is not immune to risk categories. Disaster recovery is a process that IT/IS departments use to identify risk if a server goes down. It looks at the impact to the organization and each device or application is given a rating. This creates a priority list for returning devices to service. A server is only important because of the applications being run on it such as DNS server, EHR application, billing application, PACS, EKG storage, etc. These can be rated by tiers with numerical scales.

I have often seen where 0 identifies the most vulnerable device with 1 being lower, 2 being lower still and then progressing in numbers as the level of risk drops. Biomedical application servers and some devices can be included in the tier ratings.

The disaster recovery team has this information. If a device has even a hint of a vulnerability and it is listed as a tier 0 device then it is a major issue.

Using risk categories and the cyber vulnerability together will give you a way to prioritize your devices for the next time a vulnerability hits and leadership wants to know what the risk is. Combining the vulnerability and tier helps identify if it is a minor issue or a major event. vc_TechNation_Clr Ad_7x4.5_19Oct23.pdf

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CYBER SECURITY MANAGEMENT FOR CLINICAL DEVICES

R

ight now there are some 400 million connected clinical devices in use globally, and The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is forecast to be a $63 billion industry by 2024, as reported in an recent article from Mordor Intelligence. The healthcare organizations we have been talking with are struggling to keep up with monitoring and managing these devices. Based on discussions with different healthcare providers we have identified some best practices in the industry that we wanted to share with Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) professionals.

Graphic 1: Mordor Intelligence report on Major Players for Connected Medical Devices CHALLENGES FOR CYBER-SECURITY RELATED TO CLINICAL DEVICES With the proliferation of smart, connected clinical devices, HTM teams are entering uncharted territory when it comes to cyber security risks. We discovered that the approach healthcare groups are taking can be grouped into a phased approach for endpoint cyber security that is outlined below. Some organizations are further along their maturity roadmap for managing cyber security, but most of the ones we talked with are on this similar path.

Graphic 2: Inventory Tracking Record (MRI Machine)

PHASE 1: INVENTORY TRACKING FOR CONNECTED DEVICES The first phase we identified as the logical starting point on the maturity path for all health care organizations is about inventory tracking. The lack of up-to-date and accurate inventory of connected medical devices makes the process of segmenting those assets managed by HTM teams from the other

IT supported devices extremely difficult.

A hospital might have thousands of medical devices of different types in deployment, so without a robust and low-touch inventory management process, administrators will not likely know which devices need to be updated to remediate new vulnerabilities or where those devices are located.

Implementing a holistic approach for

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tracking ALL devices is paramount, and that includes the business process of onboarding new equipment so they are tracked immediately when the medical device is put into production on the hospital floor.

The health care organizations we spoke with all started with a full-scale audit and utilized a modern CMMS application to store the relevant

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Graphic 3: Vulnerability Query Results for BlueKeep Security Alert (17 devices found)

Graphic 4: Identified Devices Requiring Updates/Patches and Work Orders Assigned Automatically information for their connected devices including IP addresses, MAC addresses, operating system, device category, manufacturer, model, current patch level, etc.

PHASE 2: DEVICE VULNERABILITY IDENTIFICATION AND REMEDIATION The second phase on the maturity path of cyber security management relates to the identification of necessary updates to existing devices based on new security notices and recommendations.

New vulnerability reports from the FDA, RASMAS, ECRI, NVD or directly from manufacturers, provide the actionable updates that are necessary for matching devices connected to a hospital network.

Using a standard search and filtering model within your modern CMMS solution you can identify all medical devices that match a specific criteria that requires attention. Once the list of matching devices is identified it can be used to create associated work orders and assign them to HTM technicians to perform the necessary security updates.

By feeding published security alert lists into your CMMS system you may be able to generate clinical maintenance

events that will find any matching devices and create the associated remediation work orders immediately (see examples above).

PHASE 3: REAL-TIME DEVICE SECURITY MONITORING AND AUTOMATED CORRECTIVE REMEDIATION The most advanced cyber security management organizations that we talked with have made it to this final phase. They have designed and implemented real-time device monitoring for security alerts and merged it with automated remediation processing. By leveraging 3rd party monitoring solutions that integrate with their CMMS, these healthcare organizations have essentially closed the loop on determining the risk of a cyber-attack and implementing the remediation necessary.

Moving to full-service protection for business continuity means obtaining actionable data on security threats, understanding the risk, and swiftly executing on remediation. Without understanding the traffic flowing to and from medical devices through your network, problems are liable to go undetected. And that’s where these

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amazing, real-time monitoring solutions aid by using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to determine the risk of a successful attack and recommend mitigating actions by feeding that information to a modern CMMS. Four examples of these real-time monitoring solutions include: • Asimily • Medigate • ORDR • Zingbox SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION The expansion of connected medical devices is not slowing down. Using a modern CMMS solution like Nuvolo will assist with the roadmap to a mature cyber security management model in order to: • Reduce the complexity of tracking, analyzing and maintaining accurate device inventory • Automate the remediation of security issues from known threat publications by device model • Enable real-time security threat identification and automate remediation tasking The extensive and accelerating use of interconnected medical devices means specialized tools and updated management processes are required, which along with basic cyber security hygiene, will help prevent breaches altogether. As such, managing cyber security for connected medical devices isn’t an option but a necessity for hospitals. To help ease the burden on HTM teams we have included many useful security compliance reports as templates within the Nuvolo toolset.

For more information, please reference our web page for cyber security or download our recent white paper. https://www.nuvolo.com/solutions/cybersecurity https://www.nuvolo.com/resources/cybersecurity-eam-whitepaper

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EXPERT ADVICE

THE FUTURE

Cooperative Education and Internships for HTMs

BY STEVEN J. YELTON

I

’m in a unique position right now where I am working on “both sides of the desk.” I am teaching HTM courses at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and working as a senior consultant for a large hospital network in Cincinnati. In both positions, we are huge proponents of cooperative education (coop) and internships for HTM students. In fact, students must have cooperative education to graduate and to get hired full time. The other common preference and recommendation is that the student have two full semesters of related cooperative education experience. That is not to say that the student must have two semesters to graduate, but it is preferred.

Our college’s requirement is one semester of full-time cooperative education to graduate. The hospitals in our area prefer graduates have two semesters of related cooperative education or internships to become hired full time. Again, that is not carved in stone but only because they may not have available candidates with two semesters of co-op. We are having a hard time getting enough students who are available for co-op positions.

I should also mention that in our case, the co-op positions are paid positions that generally start in the $10 to $15 an hour range. We are still having a difficult time recruiting students for co-op positions.

This is largely because many of our students are non-traditional and need to be employed full time with benefits not just every other semester as co-op students.

Hospitals in our area are trying many tactics to fill co-op positions when there are no available students. One tactic is to

hire people with an electronics degree as temps. The employee is then trained to perform some less complicated biomedical tasks. This is not the optimal arrangement, but employers are getting desperate for co-op students and interns. The exceptional temps may be considered for full time positions. The temps are also being encouraged to return to college to take HTM courses. Some good news is that some hospital human resources departments are doing compensation studies for HTM positions.

An interesting twist in this story is how some students have changed their way of thinking. At Cincinnati State, we have great working relationships with local hospitals. Many of the technicians at these hospitals have graduated from the Cincinnati State HTM program. They have a great affinity for the program. Very early in the HTM program, we have our instrumentation class meet at hospitals and speak with technicians there. I very often hear my students say how impressed they are with the technicians.

Recently a student told me there was no way that he could do a co-op. Just this past week, he came to me to say that after our recent hospital visit he was going to do whatever it takes to co-op. I felt this is great because I know that this will virtually assure him a really good position upon graduation. I asked what changed his mind. He told me that the technicians at the hospital seemed to love what they were doing and he knew that it would be worth whatever it took for him to get to that place in his career. I think he made a wise decision. With my educator hat on, I am blessed to have such a great group of HTM professionals that support me. To them, I

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

Steven J. Yelton P.E., CHTM am very thankful.

This is just another example how educators and employers working together can begin to overcome the need for HTM professionals. I have to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the HTM field who spread the word for HTM. It helps more than you know and you are helping shape people’s lives as they venture into our field.

A quick update of AAMI resources; AAMI’s education department is currently offering a CBET review course which has had great response from HTMs. The AAMI Foundation continues to offer scholarships to aspiring HTM technicians and engineers. The Healthcare Technology Accreditation Committee (HTAC) is continuing its work on accreditation criteria and guidance documents for educators. I encourage all of you to continue your support of HTM programs, prospective HTM professionals and invite you to take advantage of AAMI’s offerings.

STEVEN J. YELTON, P.E., CHTM; is a senior consultant for HTM in Cincinnati, Ohio and is a professor at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College where he teaches biomedical instrumentation courses. He is the Secretary-Treasurer of AAMI’s Board of Directors, AAMI’s Foundation Board of Directors, 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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EXPERT ADVICE

THE OTHER SIDE Check Your Priorities

BY JIM FEDELE

T

he life of a biomedical engineer is full of challenges and issues that seem to sap our time and energy.

It is easy in the flurry of government regulations, Joint Commission compliance and battling OEMs to lose sight of our primary focus, which is the patient.

The patient should be our top priority with all the other aspects of our job being second. Biomedical techs are technical and task-oriented people, I think we sometimes get consumed with the daily operations and forget where our priorities should be.

“Always follow your true north” was the main point in one of my first manager training seminars at the Susquehanna Health System. The “true north” represents the mission of the organization and subsequently our personal mission. The presenter discussed how aligning all of our activities to our “true north” will ensure that everything we do will always advance the mission of the organization.

This mindset provides the guidance to all decision making. Steven Covey, author of the book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective” people, conveys a similar message when he states “Begin with the end in mind.” For me, this one principle embodies all we need to do to ensure we are taking care of our patients.

However, as with so many other things in life, what is easy to say, is not always so easy to do. When the biomedical engineer is going about his/

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her day there are many opportunities for distractions. A common example is when a biomedical engineer receives a call from Nurse Kelly that her patient monitor is not working. The biomedical tech checks the unit out and cannot find anything wrong with it. He promptly returns it with a “no problem found” comment, from this point there are many scenarios. The tech may in-service Nurse Kelly, he may argue with Nurse Kelly because she has not taken the time to learn the equipment, or he may do nothing and just return it to service.

Depending on what assumptions the tech makes he/she may choose a solution to this problem that is not in the best interest of the patient.

The issue of money and costs are constant concerns for everyone in the organization. They can also distract us from fulfilling our true mission. The biomed tech’s responsibility is to balance quality, delivery, price and safety with almost every repair. The problem is these aspects often contradict each other. Choices must be made carefully to ensure there is not a negative impact on patients. Medical equipment manufacturers impede this balance as parts seem to be exorbitantly expensive. When I have discussed this with manufacturers, they hide behind terms like “quality control,” “compliance” and “safety.” Yet, we still receive parts from the OEM that are defective.

My point is we need to focus on our patients as our most important customer. To some people this may seem

Jim Fedele, CBET Senior Program Director, UPMC and BioTronics

like a pointless task. After all biomedical engineers typically have very little direct patient contact. However, the majority of their work does. In my mind, if all we do is worry about repairing devices, we have done a disservice to our industry. If we go back to the scenario with Nurse Kelly with a patient-focused mindset the solution would play out differently. Thinking about how a patient who is sick and needs help might be negatively affected by the malfunction equipment, the tech would work with Nurse Kelly to understand the problem she had with device, ensuring the problem is not intermittent. He would also tactfully work with Nurse Kelly on the operation of the device. Finally, the tech would follow up later to ensure the problem has not reoccurred.

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EXPERT ADVICE

If biomeds are truly going to be patient focused we need to be the biggest supporters of our facilities’ nurses. Imagine if a biomed tech was in the process of performing a very crucial and important PM, the PM had been scheduled for weeks ahead of time and the tech is working hard at completing it in the allocated time. In addition, the tech has three more units waiting in the queue, suddenly the tech’s most crucial piece of test equipment fails. To say there would be an emotional response is the only way I can describe it in this medium. This is how a nurse feels when she is trying to treat a patient and his/her “tool” fails. However the “device” she is working on is a person! At least our equipment doesn’t talk back to us.

If one really wants to understand what it means to be “patient focused” try being the patient yourself. Go through the admitting process, and have some test done, see what it is like to get an MRI or have radiation treatment. Then, imagine that the equipment malfunctioned while they were using it on you. That feeling is what you need to keep in heart, so you can maintain your resolves and always follow your “true north.”

JIM FEDELE, CBET, is the senior director of clinical engineering for UPMC. He magazines six Susquehanna Health hospitals. He has 30 years of HTM experience and has worked for multiple service organizations. Send questions or comments to Editor@MDPublishing.com.

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ROMAN REVIEW You Need More Conflict

BY MANNY ROMAN, CRES

I

n a recent podcast, leadership guru Peter Bregman interviewed psychologist, author, public speaker and business strategist Dr. Liane Davey. The subject of the interview was Davey’s book “The Good Fight.” I found her comments quite interesting and enlightening and want to share some with you, with my highly astute interpretation, of course. Before I proceed, I feel a definition of conflict needs to be proposed to ensure we are on the same page.

Conflict is that discomfort-generating, solution-seeking task, which most of us try to avoid. The issue can be an internal conflict, such as how to better use our time, prioritize our work schedule, or even choosing between the salad or steak for dinner. We tend to know what should be done yet struggle to make the decision.

The conflict is controlled by the good and bad devils on our shoulders that we see in cartoons.

External conflict involves other people.

They will have different objectives, needs, constraints, desires, blah, blah. We need these people in order to accomplish our set of objectives, needs, constraints, desires, blah, blah. However, in order to avoid or minimize conflict we tend to not address the issue or accept a partial resolution.

The first item that really struck me from the interview is that we need to engage in more conflict, not less. This seems counterintuitive. Why generate more discomfort in our lives? Well, it seems that when we avoid conflict, we can actually cause problems. Not telling someone that they are not doing the correct job will continue the poor job. Not prioritizing your workload will cause extra work for you and for others.

An even greater negative result of being conflict averse is that it can generate what Davey calls “conflict debt.” When we avoid a conflict that should be had, we tend to mistrust the motives of the other person because the discussion never took place. We may even harbor a grudge against that individual and this is the conflict debt. We owe that person a conflict, a discussion to settle up.

Communication is key. You may have heard or read me saying that before.

Establishing a line of communication first is critical to conflict resolution both internal and external. There is no communication without feedback. Also remember that great communication involves the verbal and nonverbal presentation, so it is best conducted face-to-face. Email and texting are horrible methods for communication since they contain only words where the intent is mostly left at the discretion of the receiver.

So, we need more conflict in our lives.

Better said, “We need more discussion, communication and solutions-driven interactions to reduce conflict debt and its attendant mistrust.” The issue is that we have a backwards approach to addressing conflict. We normally attempt to reach the solution first which tells the other person that we want our idea, our truth, to be foremost toward the end result. That is how we get into those adversarial situations that cause us such discomfort.

So how to best approach the upcoming conflict? Establish a good communication process where feedback is highly encouraged. Prepare to use proper verbal and nonverbal cues that encourage trust and confidence in each other. Let their truth be reported first to let them know that you are truly taking their view into consideration toward the desired outcome.

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

Manny Roman, CRES AMSP Business Operation Manager

Validate each other by active listening and providing signals that demonstrate that each point of view is important to the solution of the issue. Be allies in generating the mutually acceptable outcome.

Framing is a way to present an idea in such a way that it involves the other individual in an emotional way; tagging the emotion to the presented idea. For example, if you can generate a connection between what you want and what they want, you are a long way to consensus. If you both want to make sure that the outcome enhances the efficiency of the department, you have a common focus and the discussion can then follow that path.

Now I have a few words on trust. We should be working on trust at all times.

Since trust is basically an emotional state, it is critical that we work on emotional connections. Let’s not wait until the needed conflict to try to generate trust.

Spending a few minutes with others in a non-threatening and personal conversation works wonders. The trust process can be enhanced by the mutual sharing of some minor personal vulnerabilities. I am deathly afraid of spiders, even more than my fear of snakes. There, I shared this with you and placed myself in a vulnerable situation. You respond in kind and we begin the trust process.

Now, I trust that I will not receive live or fake spiders from the two of you who made it to the end of this boring column.

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BREAKROOM

DID YOU KNOW? Science Matters COMPUTER VOICE:

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The device takes Fidel’s elecctrocardiogram

2

“Please step onto the scale”

Scales measure how his body weight gently bobs up and down

3

Hold the metal bar and wait a moment” Artificial intelligence computer finds signs that Fidel's heart failure has worsened

Scales weigh heart failure Fidel is having a ballistocardiogram (BCG), a diagnostic test that researchers often used 100 years ago; it lost favor as medical imaging improved. Today, researchers are taking another look at it.

Congestive heart failure, gradual loss of ‘cardio’

Sensitive scales detect up-and-down oscillation of person’s weight The system measures forces generated as the heart ejects blood In heart failure, those forces form a distinct pattern

Heart rhythm Forces detected

by BCG

The heart Coughing, fatigue loses pumping Shortness of breath ability and enlarges; fluid Fluid in and collects in body around lungs as circulation Swelling of abdomen weakens Swelling of ankles, lower legs Heart failure is NOT heart attack (suddenly blocked circulation to heart)

A failing heart slowly loses its muscular

strength; its walls gradually thicken and stiffen

Heart failure

is treated with drugs that boost the heart beat and remove fluid from the body

Healthy heart

Failing heart

Source: Omer Inan of Georgia Institute of Technology; IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering journal; Physiological Measurements journal Graphic: Helen McComas, Tribune News Service

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1. MedWrench exhibitors Mandy Hernandez, left, and Kaylee McCaffrey pose with their lifesize Ben C. cutout.

10. HTM leaders from across the country came together to share ideas at the TN20 Leadership Summit.

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3. University of Washington’s Matthew Kenall greets a Multi Medical Systems vendor during the Reverse Expo.

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9. The crab made his way to USOC Medical’s booth, another MD Expo sponsor.

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1

2

3

12. Multi Medical Systems poses with the crab during the exhibit hall.

13. Young professionals converse and build connections at the “YP at MD” event at Pickles Pub.

4

14. TN20 member Rob Bundick of ProHealth Care shows his colleagues how to properly open crab at the TN20 dinner.

15. ChristianaCare made special pink T-shirts for the party. The party raised over $2,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

5

6

16. Hospital personnel and vendors are pictured during the Reverse Expo appointments.

17. ECRI Institute’s Anthony J. Montagnolo presented the Keynote Address, sponsored by GE Healthcare.

7

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www.injectorsupport.com • 888-667-1062

Contrast Media Injectors

Calibration Rigel Medical, Seaward Group

Injector Support and Service

Mountain States Biomedical Services

65

P P

Computed Tomography

P P

P P

22

Celing Lifts www.doctorsequipmentrepair.com • 458-205-8438

Acela Medical

TECHNATION

SERVICE

Cardiology

A.M. Bickford

88

PARTS

Anesthesia

Company Info

AD PAGE

TRAINING

SERVICE

PARTS

AD PAGE

Company Info

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

Total Scope, Inc www.totalscopeinc.com/ • (800) 471-2255

16 23

P

93

P P

63

P P

Fetal Monitoring Multimedical Systems www.multimedicalsystems.com • 888-532-8056

23

P

WWW.1TECHNATION.COM

SERVICE INDEX CONT. Monitors 81

P P

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

Select BioMedical

81

Ampronix, Inc.

www.bmesco.com • 888-828-2637

45

P P

Imaging

KEI Medical Imaging www.keimedicalimaging.com • 512-477-1500

65 63

HMARK.COM • 800-521-6224

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

Innovatus Imaging

Adel Lawrence Associates www.adel-lawrence.com • 866-252-5621

www.coromed.us • 800-695-1209

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

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

Mountain States Biomedical Services mountainstatesbiomed.com • 949-887-0301

Multimedical Systems www.multimedicalsystems.com • 888-532-8056

P P

23

P

37

P P

65

P P

31

P P

23

P

Infusion Therapy AIV aiv-inc.com • 888-656-0755

Elite Biomedical Solutions elitebiomedicalsolutions.com • 855-291-6702

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

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

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

P P

37

P P

45 35 7

P

P P

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

www.ampronix.com • 800-400-7972

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

www.MedWrench.com • 866-989-7057

Webinar Wednesday www.1technation.com/webinars • 800-906-3373

50

P P

4

P P

48

P P P

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

57 56

P

48

P

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

Ampronix, Inc. Avante Health Solutions avantehs.com

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

Biomedical Repair & Consulting Services, Inc. www.brcsrepair.com • 844-656-9418

BMES www.bmesco.com • 888-828-2637

Coro Medical

33

P P

4

P P

2

P P

28

P P

81

P P

35

P P

23

www.coromed.us • 800-695-1209 www.jetmedical.com • 714-937-0809

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

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

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

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

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

79

PACS

Jet Medical Electronics Inc

Mammography Ampronix, Inc.

MedWrench

www.ampronix.com • 800-400-7972

33

P P P

Online Resource

AIV Coro Medical

8

70

www.intermed1.com • 386-462-5220

33

P P

Nuclear Medicine

Infusion Pumps aiv-inc.com • 888-656-0755

7

P

MRI

InterMed Group 16

P P

35

www.innovatusimaging.com • 844-687-5100

Infection Control Healthmark Industries

4

www.ampronix.com • 800-400-7972

BMES

www.HealthTechTM.com • 757-563-0448

P

Monitors/CRTs

inRayParts.com

Health Tech Talent Management, Inc.

35

www.selectpos.com • 866-559-3500

Hand Switches www.inrayparts.com • 417-597-4702

TRAINING

www.brcsrepair.com • 844-656-9418

SERVICE

Biomedical Repair & Consulting Services, Inc.

PARTS

Gas Monitors

Company Info

AD PAGE

TRAINING

SERVICE

PARTS

AD PAGE

Company Info

P

39

P P

93

P P

45

P P

22

P P

17

P P

DECEMBER 2019

TECHNATION

89

SERVICE INDEX CONT.

acelamedical.com • 770.371.8661

Avante Patient Monitoring

P P

29

P P

47 www.doctorsequipmentrepair.com • 458-205-8438

P P

avantehs.com/monitoring • 800-449-5328

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

91

Doctors Equipment Repair

Portable X-ray

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

www.inrayparts.com • 417-597-4702

45

P P

Power System Components Interpower www.interpower.com • 800-662-2290

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

P

Radiology

acelamedical.com • 770.371.8661

Mountain States Biomedical Services

www.ampronix.com • 800-400-7972

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

4

P P

48

P P P

Recruiting

Healthmark Industries

www.adel-lawrence.com • 866-252-5621

Health Tech Talent Management, Inc. www.HealthTechTM.com • 757-563-0448

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

79

SVI International, Inc.

aiv-inc.com • 888-656-0755

Acela Medical

SVI International, Inc. www.sviinternational.com • 800-321-8173

AIV

50

avantehs.com/monitoring • 800-449-5328

73

Rental/Leasing

Avante Patient Monitoring Biomedical Repair & Consulting Services, Inc. BMES www.bmesco.com • 888-828-2637

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

Multimedical Systems

Avante Health Solutions avantehs.com

Elite Biomedical Solutions elitebiomedicalsolutions.com • 855-291-6703

2 37

P

Repair

www.multimedicalsystems.com • 888-532-8056

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

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

Acela Medical acelamedical.com • 770.371.8661

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

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

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

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

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

91

P P

81 29 75 37 39

P P P P P P P P

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

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

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

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

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

Radcal Corporation Rigel Medical, Seaward Group www.seaward-groupusa.com • 813-886-2775

TECHNATION

DECEMBER 2019

P P

31

P P

91

P P

33

P P

29

P P

81

P P

35

P P

37

P P

23

P

45

P P

17

P P

7

P P

Test Equipment

www.radcal.com • 800-423-7169

90

91

Telemetry aiv-inc.com • 888-656-0755

33

P

Tables

www.brcsrepair.com • 844-656-9418

AIV

76

73

www.sviinternational.com • 800-321-8173

65

Refurbish

P

16

acelamedical.com • 770.371.8661

Adel Lawrence Associates

6

Surgical HMARK.COM • 800-521-6224

Ampronix, Inc.

P P

Sterilizers

mountainstatesbiomed.com • 949-887-0301

95

37

Respiratory

Acela Medical

inRayParts.com

TRAINING

Acela Medical

SERVICE

Patient Monitors

PARTS

P P

Company Info

AD PAGE

TRAINING

7

SERVICE

www.usocmedical.com • 855-888-8762

PARTS

USOC Bio-Medical Services

AD PAGE

Company Info

76 96

P P

93

P P

5 67 3 WWW.1TECHNATION.COM

SERVICE INDEX CONT.

College of Biomedical Equipment Technology www.cbet.edu • 866-866-9027

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

IntraServ Biomedical LLC www.intraservbiomedical.com/ • 980-269-5787

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

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

avantehs.com/ultrasound • 800-958-9986

79 11

Innovatus Imaging

P

82

P

73

P

48

P

43

P

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

www.innovatusimaging.com • 844-687-5100

Trisonics www.trisonics.com • 877-876-6427

Cardiotronix CARDIOTRONIXHEALTH.COM • (855)-4DEFIBS

Mountain States Biomedical Services mountainstatesbiomed.com • 949-887-0301

Engineering Services, KCS Inc

www.innovatusimaging.com • 844-687-5100

Ultrasound

InterMed Group

Ampronix, Inc.

www.intermed1.com • 386-462-5220

www.ampronix.com • 800-400-7972

4

P P

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

ATS Laboratories www.atslaboratories-phantoms.com/ • atslaboratories@yahoo-com

79

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

P

75

P P

8 67

P P

39

P P

31

P P

6

P

X-Ray

Innovatus Imaging

P P

P P

Ventilators

www.eng-services.com • 888-364-7782x11

43

2

TRAINING

www.adel-lawrence.com • 866-252-5621

Avante Ultrasound

SERVICE

avantehs.com

PARTS

Avante Health Solutions

P P

Training Adel Lawrence Associates

Company Info

AD PAGE

TRAINING

22

SERVICE

sebiomedical.com/ • 828-396-6010

PARTS

Southeastern Biomedical, Inc

AD PAGE

Company Info

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

8 70

P P P

48

P P P

43

P P P

DECEMBER 2019

TECHNATION

91

SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS FOR

Department OF THE Month SPOTLIGHT

We love to feature the top departments in TechNation’s monthly feature! Send in a nomination for Department of the Month!

DEPARTMENT OF THE MONTH

SPOT

LIGHT

The David Grant Medical Center Medical Equipment Repair Center

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

F

ifty miles northeast of San Francisco, and seven miles east of Fairfield, in northern California, sits Travis Air Force Base. It leads the country in the amount of passenger and cargo traffic compared with any other military air terminal. It is home to several units in addition to the 60th Air Mobility Wing. It is also home to the David Grant USAF Medical Center. The facility, operated by the 60th Medical Group, sees 400,000 patients annually.

Military Treatment Facilities in eight states Active duty HTM professionals are trained in the Western Region of the United through the same school that many current States.” civilian biomeds graduated from.

Haskin adds that each site is visited “Active duty technicians are trained annually for routine maintenance. through the DoD Biomedical Equipment “We also support the facilities with Maintenance program at the Medical technician support for installations of Education and Training Campus (METC) various equipment including PCRI on new at Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, radiology equipment before patient use.

Texas,” says Haskin.

Additionally, we work hand-in-hand with “Additionally, before deployment, physicists during initial inspections/ technicians attend DoD advanced courses acceptances of new radiology equipment,” including the Advanced Field Medical he says. “MERC technicians also provide Systems course, and a manufacturer CT “David Grant Medical Center (DGMC) quality control oversight for supported school to prepare them for down-range is the Air Force Medical Service’s bases during annual visits.” support of a field CT system with little to flagship medical treatment facility in the Both service contracts and database no outside support,” he adds.

United States,” says U.S. Air Force management are handled by unique, Part of the reason the team is well Senior Master Sgt. Bruce Haskin, 60 th dedicated entities that are a part of the trained is that METC training is so Medical Support Squadron section chief military biomed infrastructure. comprehensive. Haskin points out that of clinical engineering.

“An in-house contract services team members may have also taken some The HTM professionals managing the department, a subsidiary of medical advanced courses through the DoD school. medical equipment at Travis are part of the logistics, oversees annual service contracts Medical Equipment Repair Center and manages one-time repairs and WIDE-RANGING UNIQUE CUSTOMERS (MERC). services,” Haskin says.

The MERC team at Travis Air Force Base, Leadership in the MERC includes Paula “All equipment inspections,

BY K. California, has a worldwide reach. They RICHA Binns, chief of clinical engineering; Kevin preventative maintenance, calibrations, RD DO have also loaned personnel to important UGLAS Hoellein, CBET, chief of the Medical other services, repairs, and modifications humanitarian missions.

Equipment Repair Center; Master Sgt. are recorded into the Defense Medical he Son “This facility has a high operations oran Aubrey Durkin, NCO in charge, Medical Defor Logistics Standard Support database countr tempo sertdeployments throughout the y unl Equipment Repair Center; and Haskin. ike saysis a region passes world,” system,” Haskin adds.

“Our of southe othHaskin. southe any the technicians er. It The MERC also includes 31 ast Haskin says this includes documenting enccountries in CB have rn served in many Arizon Europe, The city ern Cal ET, ma a as we omifor technicians, who service an inventory of the amount of time the technician(s) niaand of Tuc Africa nager Middle East.” TM andthe desert spent C. parts ll as of clin 10,187 pieces of equipment. region son, Ari on the equipment, and the specific services of of zonamembers ical eng “Two Methe DGMC team . sits ineerin The group has wide-ranging within xico. tha “TMC also done to the equipment. The system were recently ‘deployed’ g at this to San Antonio, t pro has a responsibility for multiple facilities. vid netwo provides historical information, cost of specia Texas, to support humanitarian merelief The me dicine e primary rk of list tro-Tu “At David Grant Medical Center, we , inte 21 care services (including contractnea costs), Garcia -systems; numstruck and fam clinics cson efforts after multiple hurricanes rly a ber of the rnal me Guille , area service multiple clinics, and have a joint mil dicine historical cost, life expectancy, ily specia BMET BMET II; eng rmina lion peo United the Un is pop States and nearby countries,” ineerinsays as lty ser Da “Mina iversit ple. Th ulated venture with the Veterans Administration g maintenance timelines and vices. well as a Lynn, III; Jaye Joh rell Hendr well Naother y of Ari Haskin. with ” e city tionalpertinent as the supports Clinic BMET nso ick zon where we service equipment items to serve is all Par al follow data to determine when the III; Jim TMand U.S.equipmentk. It of a and Sgt.hom III; Sco n, BMET son, Senior C: hos e toSchaffer bor ing fac these are is 60 “Tech.

SaguarRyan tt Ma II; VA patients,” says Haskin. “As a MERC, pice, miles Nathan Roone Pangrac, should be replaced. largest der with o Howard ger Airman cLachl John iatric and inspected ambul ilities affi as as BM nor Me y, BM city th of psy xico liat we support 34 Department of Defense atory servic in gym ET I; ET III; Re an, BMET Training is also uniqueHa to the military. and is themillion of servic $4 equipment surger ed with ,” she chand es Joe Sm becca ndling Arizona. reconstituted the sec e and imagin engineer those ith, an em y center, Clinic says. ond I; people the medic g and Ma imagin ser ployee al eng al nee 14 Direct TECHNATION (TM MARCH 2018 is the rk We g Brish vices eng ineerin C), WWW.1TECHNATION.COM or of Tucson ds of all ineer. ltz, sen g rep centra says ser IT Inf tions ty-base which is of ort Me ior vic ras Susan a stands to TM lly ma dical d hos each up of Snedak tructure Cente naged e contracts alo S “Hosp pital lice dep and 16 me er. Th 1803_TNMag.indd 14 nsed ne, commu r ital spe ble for artment by clinica were not mbers 2/1/18 pediatr e CEAM Operaat 600 The ni9:46 l eng cia manag . team ic beds. ineerin their the contra includ team und is ma orthop emergenc lty areas er wa depart er inc de g; cts for es s res y car edics,” Cahill Ellis Brittin Brish’s dir e, car lude: equipm ponsisays In 201 ment. diolog ect , ima Karla , BM ent in ging equipm 6, that y and Calde ET II; leadershi Brish, ser change ron, p MBA, BMET vices lead; Walter assign ent servic d and Tim 12 e agr Ca Ro ed all me I; TECHN depart to the clin eement engine ssell, senior Dirk Call, berto ATION s were dical me er; ica BM ima nt to APRIL l eng Brian ET III; ine be “This 2018 Darr, ging servic move managed. ering biome es leader wa dical s s as ma well-r equipm time ny of eceive or ent them d by of a ser expertise did clinica vice con to manag not hav l e the e the tract,” delive Brish rables says.

DEPA OF TH RTMENT The Tu cson M E MO edical NTH Cente r Clinic al Eng T

ineeri ng Dep artmen t

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SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATION Advancing the Biomedical/HTM Professional

TECHN

ATION.

COM

Physician’s Resource Network

PRN is a national leader in the Sale of New, Used, and Reconditioned Medical Equipment Our equipment is tested and serviced in-house so that we can guarantee its integrity.

PURCHASE EQUIPMENT

ONLINE!

www.PRNwebsite.com 1.800.284.0967 AUTHORIZED NORTHEAST DISTRIBUTOR OF

EMPOWERING THE BIOMEDICAL/HTM PROFESSIONAL

ALPHABETICAL INDEX A.M. Bickford…………………………………………………………… 76 Acela Medical…………………………………………………………… 91 Adel Lawrence Associates……………………………………………… 79 AIV……………………………………………………………………… 33 ALCO Sales & Service Co.……………………………………………… 81 Ampronix, Inc.…………………………………………………………… 4 ATS Laboratories………………………………………………………… 79 Avante Health Solutions………………………………………………… 2 Avante Patient Monitoring……………………………………………… 29 Avante Ultrasound……………………………………………………… 75 BC Group International, Inc…………………………………………… 96 BETA Biomed Services………………………………………………… 28 Biomedical Repair & Consulting Services, Inc.………………………… 81 BMES…………………………………………………………………… 35 Cardiotronix…………………………………………………………… 39 College of Biomedical Equipment Technology………………………… 11 Coro Medical…………………………………………………………… 23 Crothall Healthcare Technology Solutions……………………………… 79 D.A. Surgical…………………………………………………………… 42 Doctors Equipment Repair……………………………………………… 47 ECRI Institute…………………………………………………………… 82 Elite Biomedical Solutions……………………………………………… 37 Engineering Services, KCS Inc………………………………………… 6 Health Tech Talent Management, Inc.………………………………… 65 Healthmark Industries………………………………………………… 16 Injector Support and Service…………………………………………… 28 Innovatus Imaging……………………………………………………… 8 inRayParts.com………………………………………………………… 45 InterMed Group………………………………………………………… 70 Interpower……………………………………………………………… 95 IntraServ Biomedical LLC……………………………………………… 73 Jet Medical Electronics Inc…………………………………………… 39 KEI Medical Imaging…………………………………………………… 63 Master Medical Equipment…………………………………………… 65 Maull Biomedical Training……………………………………………… 70 MedWrench…………………………………………………………… 57 Mountain States Biomedical Services………………………………… 31 Multimedical Systems………………………………………………… 23 Ozark Biomedical……………………………………………………… 50 PRN/ Physician’s Resource Network…………………………………… 93 Pronk Technologies, Inc. ……………………………………………… 5 Radcal Corporation……………………………………………………… 67 RepairMED……………………………………………………………… 45 Rigel Medical, Seaward Group………………………………………… 3 RSTI……………………………………………………………………… 48 Select BioMedical……………………………………………………… 35 Southeastern Biomedical, Inc………………………………………… 22 Southwestern Biomedical Electronics, Inc.…………………………… 17 Stephens International Recruiting Inc.………………………………… 50 SVI International, Inc.…………………………………………………… 73 Total Scope, Inc………………………………………………………… 63 Tri-Imaging Solutions…………………………………………………… 43 Trisonics………………………………………………………………… 67 USOC Bio-Medical Services…………………………………………… 7 Webinar Wednesday…………………………………………………… 56 DECEMBER 2019

TECHNATION

93

BREAKROOM

FLASHBACK MD Exp 2009

The fall 2009 MD Expo, held in Nashville, TN, was music to attendee’s ears because it marked the beginning of MD Expo offering FREE admission to anyone from a hospital or healthcare facility. Support for the conference was incredible!

n w ith a pe a k s th. nte r) s o e o (c b y l edic a r Yokle k Biom Bee m e e Oz ar th t a e e at t e n d

ed TA Biom . e r of B E w lo F h ll a ours d Deidra xhibit h e g n ri D.R . an u d ee s d ith atte n speak w

T he B lues & s po n s Bre ws ored b B a sh y In t e live m rMed u sic in featur t he b r ed idge b Re n ais a r of t sanc e he N a sh v ille .

The Deale r

Summit feat ured a “Q& A” session w ith a panel of expe rt s...

& Keynote The Music to Your Mouth Luncheon e featured thcar Heal Address spon sored by ARA MAR K cal Clini VP, r Senio T, CBE E, Brian Poplin, FACH any. comp the for ces Servi ology Techn 94

TECHNATION

DECEMBER 2019

ision making ...to discuss hospital’s dec for the future. e par pre processes and how to

WWW.1TECHNATION.COM

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Benefit from value-added options. For example, with special labeling you can include identifying information on the cords (e.g. Operating Room 1 or ER 2) and should you need to replace a cord, you only have to order one cord.

Secure Connections are Essential To help prevent accidental power interruptions, secure your cord set with the new Interpower Connector Lock.

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

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INTERPOWER | P.O. Box 115 | 100 Interpower Ave | Oskaloosa, IA 52577 | Toll-Free Phone: (800) 662-2290 | Toll-Free Fax: (800) 645-5360 | sales@interpower.com

IPA-3400 Infusion Pump Analyzer

Now Patented

The High Accuracy, Easy-to-Use System with Full Touch Screen Control of All Processes The IPA-3400 is the most compact, fully featured four channel analyzer on the market. The IPA-3400 has a Patented, dual syringe stepper motor driven system that offers continuous monitoring of the fluid flow, providing a more realistic flow path for the infusion device under test and more accurate readings.

The independent stepper motor control of the custom designed, ceramic valving allows the system to run quietly and smoothly, with a bidirectional powered fluid flow for use in the built in cleaning cycle.

The Next Generation in Infusion Pump Analyzers is here!          

Large 7” Color Touch Screen 1,2,3 and 4 Channel Models available (Field Upgradeable) User Swappable, Fully Self Contained Flow Modules Calibration in Flow Modules No need to be down for calibration or service!

Smooth Dual Syringe System Eliminates Drain Cycle Inconsistencies Whisper Quiet Operation Auto Start Built-in Auto Test Sequences Built-in Data Collection Built-in Reports

Screenshots from the IPA-3400

Easy access to modules for expansion and calibration.

Each module is calibrated with up to four channels in each IPA-3400. Stagger the calibration time for modules to prevent downtime.

Users can also run specific test routines specified by various manufacturers using built in autosequences. Advanced features in the autosequences even allows the inclusion of pictures to aid with the setup and configuration of each step.

IPA-3400 with Swappable Modules

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