In my February Up Front column, I wrote about the planned World Product Centre (WPC) in New York that investors have billed as “the world’s first permanent international health care marketplace and education centre.” Within the 1.5 million-square-foot building, fully equipped showrooms will enable vendors to demonstrate the compatibility of their products with clinical connectivity and interoperability standards. The WPC will include educational facilities for accredited continuing medical education programs, media centers, technology labs, traditional office space, and space for health care events. The joint venture includes the participation of—along with other organizations—the Greater New York Hospital Association.

What do you think about this plan? Will it streamline your work and make device acquisitions easier? Does it make sense to have a facility that brings together—in one location, under one roof, year around—the many sectors that contribute to the success of health care? I’ll be looking forward to your comments.  

Charles Romey, a biomed at University Hospital, had an idea for an inexpensive solution for locating beds, but isn’t sure of where to find it. On his behalf, I’m calling on all of you to offer solutions you have found that work. Here’s his dilemma:

“We often get calls for bed repairs, however, by the time we can get to the stated location or after the first diagnosis, the bed has been moved. Thus begins a long game of hide, seek, and repair. Has anyone had heard of/seen a “Bed Boot,” similar in effect to the boot police use on cars? I realize it would be a low-tech solution, but with quick response we might be able to secure the bed and more efficiently effect repairs.”

Charles says even with "broken tags" on the beds they still get moved sometimes, and he knows RFID would work but he was told that due to the price “we would have to wait until the entire hospital was wired to make it a reasonable approach.” He added that hopefully the bed boot would suffice in the meantime.

Do you know where to get one? Do you have another solution? Charles will be looking forward to your comments. Thanks!

Although many departments have brought a lot of service in-house, many still use service contracts in some way. The Service Solutions section of the February issue of 24x7 focuses on making wise choices when negotiating service contracts. Joe Medina, AAS, biomed department supervisor at Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center, Lafayette, Colo, offers some good advice when considering the coverage you need. To customize coverage down to each piece of equipment, Medina reviews and discusses usage and coverage needs with the user groups. “If we have one CT, we may want 24/7 coverage, but with two, they may not need the same coverage if they perform differently,” he says. “That’s when you involve the user groups, asking which is used most and which provides the better images, and maybe that one gets greater coverage in the contract than the other.” This saves on pricing without negligibly risking uptime security.

How do you plan your coverage? What have you discovered works best to get the coverage you need? Share your best practices here, and be sure to read the upcoming article, Essentially Smart Contracts, for more tips.

On a regular basis I receive press releases from companies discussing ways to get on board with environmental trends. Most of the releases don’t have anything to do with this industry, but the topic is still relevant. 24x7’s September 2008 cover story addressed this very theme in the interview with the team at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in Calif. The department is now seeing the benefits of conservation initiatives implemented a number of years ago.

Some of the department’s best practices? Acting before a deadline, or even better, before a deadline has been imposed; closely planning and assessing new equipment; and considering energy costs and the environmental impact of future devices for all new purchases.

How is your department handling conservation questions and demands? We welcome your ideas so let us know.