In the January issue of 24x7, the article, “The Art of the Deal,” covered negotiating tips to help secure the best prices on device purchases, as well as ideas on how to know what to include in a contract.

For example, Arthur Bartosch, CBET, director of biomedical engineering services, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY, advises that the skill level of in-house personnel will always play a role in what kind of service contract to obtain. Knowing what his techs can and cannot do determines what is mission-critical and what fosters the highest return on investment.

When Bartosch eventually gets to the negotiating table he then makes sure that he is getting everything he needs to fully support the device. Some questions include: What are the hours of coverage? Is glassware included? Is it a 24/7 gold, silver, or platinum contract? After determining all that, it is time to talk about a reasonable price.

Have tips of your own? Share them now on by commenting on this blog.

 

 

Did you watch the Grammy Awards last night? There are a lot of good things about these types of shows and last night one of the things that stood out for me in this celebration of music was how influential musicians are on another's career. The awards honored many musicians on a larger scale, but more specifically and personally individual artists acknowledged various musicians and the impact these artists had on their career.

How about you? Did you have a mentor or someone you admired who gave you advice that has helped you in your career? I invite you to share it with your colleagues and comment here. Of course, if you’ve got some of your own good ideas you’d like to share on a “larger scale,” please e-mail me at jkirst@allied360.com and I’ll post it on your behalf. Thanks!

 

 

If you're a frequent visitor to the 24x7 blog, you may have noticed this article (Showing Value by Alfred Winnberry) on how in-house biomed programs can show value to their organizations, which was posted in the comment section of our Getting What You Want blog.

If not, I encourage you to read it for a good discussion on effective documenting strategies in-house programs can turn around to hospital administrators.  

Recently, I spoke to a biomed about the pros and cons of in-house departments and third party servicers. In-house programs, he noted, naturally lose money on paper, so justifying their existence must then ultimately become about showing how they add quality and save more money than they spend. Hospitals may oscillate back and forth between going in-house and contracting services out, until they can determine which of the two gets the most bang for their buck.

The article's author suggests showing a cost comparison for necessary parts and labor between OEMs, the in-house program, and any local ISOs. Can the in-house biomeds prove they can do it the cheapest?

If you work in-house, what does your hospital expect from your department documentation wise? How do you show them you're saving money while maintaining a well-supplied, quality department?

The article “20 Ways to Save” in the December 2009 issue had great tips from biomedical/clinical engineering managers on how to stretch those tight budget dollars.

Tips such as flex your schedule, rethink your service strategies, and expand your reach are only a few of the 20. Did you implement any of them? Did they help?

We hope you’ll share some of your own ideas and we invite your comments.

 

If you’re looking for a new job and you’re headed to trade shows or career fairs, here’s a best practice shared by Jennifer Brown, national talent acquisition manager for ARAMARK, clinical technology services.

Jennifer said: “When you go to an event and you’re looking for a career opportunity, even though the event may be casual, come dressed professionally. And, bring a completed resume.”

Jennifer, an expert in her field, added that this will help show that you're serious. Do you have any tips that have worked for you? Comment here to share them.

And, our thanks to Jennifer—who always looks very professional.

 

 

With the 2009 annual compensation survey now online, many of you may be contemplating your own value to your organization, and the best ways advance your own career.

Desirable positions often call for direct related experience, but for those without it, making the leap may be a hard sell. Talking up existing accomplishments can prove a successful strategy.   

When applying for a position in management, for example, a biomed without hospital supervision experience might choose to showcase their leadership capabilities through events they’ve organized for their local biomedical association, or talk about projects they’ve helped with at work outside the usual scope of their abilities.

We invite you to think (and talk) about what fares best with potential employers. What skills did you highlight when interviewing for your present position?

 

When you (or your department) need more—whether it’s training, flexibility, autonomy when ordering parts, money, or help—how do you go about asking for what you need? Do you develop a plan, layout the cost benefits, and schedule a meeting?

What works for you as an individual and as a department? Share your best practices and help your colleagues meet their needs too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the NCBA show in North Carolina, biomed Gordon Radke of Carolina Healthcare and I were talking about communication and getting to the root of the problem when it comes to figuring out what's wrong with a device. Gordon shared this best practice that has yielded positive results for him:

Gordon says: "The more familiar your face is, the more comfortable your customers are in asking a question, even the 'stupid' questions, which can help you figure out what's really wrong and can improve the level of patient safety in the hospital. The more confident they are in your abilities, the more the nurses can focus on their jobs, which is taking care of patients."

Have you found this too? We invite your comments and also your best practices. Send your tips to me at jkirst@allied360.com and thanks!

When working on an unfamiliar or particularly challenging piece of equipment, sometimes just finding the problem to fix can be a bit tricky. Resources such as service manuals, advice from colleagues, or even the Internet can all be indispensable when troubleshooting, but sometimes an out-of-the-box solution can yield the best results.

When biomed and clinical laboratory equipment specialist Jon Sears with the Baltimore VA is having difficulty, oftentimes he will go straight to the equipment vendors themselves.

“It’s just a matter of getting through the tech support people,” he says. “If you can get through the front lines to the engineering group, they’re just like any other engineering group out there. They don’t mind pointing you in the right direction to work on things. A lot of times most of the engineering is reserved for most of the company’s field service representatives, but a lot of times they’ll talk to you.”

Sears also uses his background to build rapport with vendors. Taking time to build a relationship and a level of trust with vendor service departments has paid off for Sears, who turns to them for more than just troubleshooting advice.

“A lot of times I’ll call them up and I’ll take to them about reference manuals or files I need. A lot of the time they have it on their computers and they’ll just e-mail the file."

We’re interested to hear about any go-to troubleshooting techniques and tips you’ve picked up. Have you opened any doors thought previously closed?

 

It is my pleasure to welcome our guest blogger Todd Cooper, president of Breakthrough Solutions Foundry Inc, San Diego. Device connectivity affects everyone working with medical devices, and your comments and participation are important, as you’ll see from Todd’s post below. We hope you'll respond to this blog and also click on the link he provides to submit your ideas. Thanks in advance!

From Todd Cooper: In the midst of the health care reform debate, passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009/Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (ARRA/HITECH) legislation earlier this year, and even discussions about the “health Internet,” the question has been asked: Where does device connectivity fit into all this? To answer that question, the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) was chartered to look at the broad landscape of device connectivity and the ever increasing role it plays within the health care enterprise, and to create a plan of attack over the next few years that would culminate in “medical device interoperability” by 2015. A HITSP working group of subject matter experts has been developing a technical note over the last 2 to 3 months that provides just such a multi-phased roadmap for establishing open standards-based device connectivity solutions that would be ready for deployment by 2013/2015, as well as the technology gaps that need to be filled in order to get there.

Recently HITSP published HITSP/TN905 Device Connectivity Technical Note for public comment and is asking for review and feedback over the next few weeks. The document is available on the HITSP Web site and the public comment period closes December 18, 2009. The comments will then be reviewed and a final draft created and submitted for approval at the HITSP meeting scheduled for January 25, 2010. This is your opportunity to provide input into the roadmap, ensuring that your concerns and needs are heard and taken into consideration!

Also, if you are interested in working on the final draft to be submitted for final approval by the HITSP at its January 25, 2010 meeting, please contact either Todd Cooper (t.cooper@ieee.org) or John Donnelly (jtdonnelly@intepro.biz).