Though readers have clearly shown interest in the recent rebranding of the biomed/clinical engineering industry to “health care technology management”—a title chosen by a group of 30 professionals representing hospitals, biomedical societies, educational institutions, and other interests—24×7 has not heard many reactions to the renaming. During an interview with members of the California Medical Instrumentation Association (CMIA), I asked the association’s chairman his thoughts on the name change, as well as for any reaction he may have heard from the group’s membership.
“I think it’s OK,” says Gus Sakis, chairman of the CMIA. “I think, generally speaking for the membership statewide, I think they’re OK with the name. It’s topical, it’s now. We all kind of know that biomedical engineering is not as separate and isolated as it used to be where every hospital had a biomedical engineering department. That’s not the case now. Departments are grouping together. Health care technology management is an accurate way to describe what members of CMIA are and what they do.”
Given that AAMI has adopted the name, do you anticipate any benefits such as a unified workforce? Could this nomenclature help bridge the gap between IT and the biomed departments? Do you anticipate other departments in your facility will acknowledge the name change, and if so, do you expect any changes in responsibilities?
