In our June issue, the “Focus On” section featured advice from leaders at four different associations from across the country. These members have served in various leadership roles and continue to participate in their activities. We asked their advice on how to start an association and also what they had done to help it expand. The answers—as varied as the location of these four associations—highlight the need for commitment from members to help them grow.

Are you part of an association? What best practices can you add? Comment here and share your ideas.  

At the recent AAMI conference in Tampa, Fla, I spoke with Mike Reed, general manager of education services with GE Healthcare. He said that there were a number of hospitals that had paid for training but had not sent the techs due to financial constraints. 

Mike said: “We’ve seen instances where hospitals purchase tuition but the biomeds weren’t able to attend because they couldn’t get the money to travel to class.”

A serious problem, considering how important training is to everyone. When budgets tighten and “no travel” policies are implemented, what’s the solution? 

Mike’s suggestion, get the whole package. “Get the training that also includes lodging and airfare.” 

A great suggestion, thanks Mike! We’d also like to know your best practices for making sure training that’s been paid for is received. We hope you’ll comment here and share your ideas, to the benefit of everyone.

The Service Solutions article in the June issue of 24x7 focused on an overview of the electronic medical record, or EMR. The thorough article provided insight from biomeds working on the implementation process. One of those interviewed, Derrick W. VanKampen, a biomedical device integration analyst 2 in the IT department of Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Fla, shared this information:

“There are a lot of items that facilities and clinical engineering will have to look at, assess, and complete in a very short amount of time, which means there are a lot of organizations that are going to have a lot of work coming their way very fast.”

The article probed decisions, testing, responsibilities, and other aspects of getting an EMR operational in a facility, and we’d like to know if the article helped you, and also if you’re working on EMR implementation in your hospital. If you are, please share your insight and best practices to smooth the way for those who will have to work on this—sooner rather than later. Thanks!

Valdez Bravo, a biomedical equipment support specialist at Portland VA Medical Center in Oregon would appreciate your input on how to create a biomedical equipment repair forum that biomeds in developing nations could access to interact with US biomedical equipment techs—or biomeds from other countries as well—to assist with locating literature, parts, solutions, etc.

Here’s what Valdez said: “The idea stems from my time in March 2008 when I traveled to JFK Medical Center in Monrovia, Liberia. I was there with a nonprofit called Project HOPE. We were rebuilding the medical center that had basically been destroyed during Liberia’s 10-year civil war. The experience was amazing, and I was able to fix a lot of things, but many issues could have been resolved if the Liberian’s (who speak English) could have had an e-mail address or forum location to direct questions to. These were very smart individuals who were excellent in electronics, but needed just a little bit of info in order to do a lot of good.”

He doesn’t want to “reinvent the wheel” so if you know of a good site already in operation, or you have ideas, please comment here and see what you can all “virtually” build together. Thanks!

In our May "Up Font" column, we discussed the risk of exposure we all face through the growing availability of patient information disseminated to many people through multiple devices. Earlier this year, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal filed a lawsuit against Health Net of Connecticut, claiming the company did not secure patient medical records and financial information prior to a security breach that affected 446,000 Connecticut enrollees.

Has your organization taken steps to encrypt patient information? Share your best practices on how your facility and department work to mitigate this serious risk to our privacy.

At the end of June, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) will hold its annual conference and expo. In addition to numerous educational sessions, organizations hold special roundtables and sessions, there’s a career fair, networking with colleagues, and an exhibit hall. How do you make the most of your time? How do you decide what sessions to attend?

Comment on this blog and share your best ideas on how to maximize your time at AAMI and other conferences.

I recently received a call from Simon Miranda, chief of biomedical engineering services at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He wanted to know if there was any definitive information on how to determine an individual’s workload in the industry.

He has a method but is open to ideas. 24x7’s current poll asks a related question: In determining the minimal staffing level required to run an effective biomedical engineering program, is the unit of service (UOS) based on inventory or patient adjusted discharged?

At this point, 89.8% have said inventory, but how do you determine this? Do you look at the complexity of the device? The equipment’s age? We hope you’ll comment on the blog and help answer Simon’s question: How do you determine an individual’s workload in the industry? Thanks!

In our "Up Front" column in the April issue, we discussed the new device tax included in the new health care reform bill and what it might mean to the industry. “Section 9009; Imposition of Annual Fee on Medical Device Manufacturers and Importers,” provides for a 2.3% excise tax to begin in 2013.

G. Wayne Moore, BSc, MBA, FASE, president, advanced development group and chief strategy officer of Unisyn Medical Technologies, said:  “The new 2.3% tax will put additional pressure on innovation, as the base cost to bring new novel medical products to market will increase,” Moore said. “Some companies, such as Medtronic, have already indicated that the new tax will cause them to lay off some employees as well as throttle back on advanced research and development initiatives.”

What do you think about this? If you work for a device company, have any changes been discussed in light of the new bill? Click on the comment tab and let us know your thoughts.

What are you doing to mark National Biomedical/Clinical Engineering Week? Celebrated May 23 through 29 it is the perfect opportunity to showcase your department within the hospital and your profession within the community.

What have you done in the past that has worked to get the word out? Did you set up a booth in the hospital lobby? Put a notice in your hospital’s newsletter? Help your colleagues spread the word about the industry by sharing your ideas. We look forward to your comments.

In early April we posted a blog on behalf of Biomed Don Hang who works in a clinical engineering department in Ohio. He was interested in your suggestions about some design ideas he had. Once again on his behalf we invite your input.

Don says he thinks that, “Utilizing ground chains or ground brush wheels would help so that larger instruments (like anesthesia, neonate/infant incubators, warmers, etc) do not pick up static charge—which I have always felt probably does not help the electronics and definitely does not make the technician on the receiving end of static shock any more comfortable.”

What do you think? Any suggestions on how to implement this? Click on the comment link and let Don know how to accomplish this. Thanks!