Last week, AAMI once again hosted a meeting, called Future Forum II, to discuss ways to advance the field. Last year’s meeting, which resulted in the name health care technology management (HTM) for the profession, formed the building block for this year’s meeting of 23 HTM professionals.

The three-day event saw the attendees agree on a series of steps to advance the field, including a need for uniform job titles and descriptions. According to AAMI, there was a “general consensus that HTM professionals need to assert themselves in new ways and help guide their facilities through a landscape changing ever faster by technological advances.”

Part of an effort by AAMI to increase recognition of HTM professionals, the meeting engaged participants who challenged each other on how best to advance the work of HTM professionals and prepare them for an even greater role in modern health care.

Some of the ways discussed to increase visibility in the work environment included:

  • Provide annual reports to the C-Suite, such as a clinical device replacement prioritization list, which can help develop budgets.
  • The development of a career ladder to chart the steps an entry-level HTM professional must take to reach a C-Suite position.
  • Collaboration with IT departments—an ongoing area of debate and attention. Steven Yelton, chairman of the electrical engineering technologies department in the Center for Innovative Technologies at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College in Cincinnati, said HTM departments need to address service level agreements and develop standards to help HTM and IT departments define the responsibilities for these agreements.

Ray Laxton, chair of AAMI’s board and vice president of strategic partnerships at ARAMARK Healthcare Technologies in Charlotte, NC said all were in “complete agreement on the end goal—Defining what we want to be.”

You can read more about what was covered in AAMI’s news release.

If you attended, your comments and insight are welcome here.