Survey Finds IT Specialty Pays, Mergers Uncommon
It’s been said that for biomeds, it pays to specialize. But does it matter which area of expertise you choose?
According to a recent survey commissioned by AAMI, BMETs and clinical engineers who focus on information technology (IT) earn more than their colleagues in other biomed specialties, as well as those who do not have a specialty. The survey examined biomedical/clinical engineering salaries and benefits overall, studying such factors as certification, employer type, and geography.
Specifically, those with an IT specialty earned a base salary of $76,800 in 2005. By comparison, the median base salary of all those responding to the survey was $62,000. Biomeds specializing in IT also saw a significant increase in their salaries over last year, when their base salary averaged $69,500.
In addition, 56% of those surveyed said they would be interested in a biomed IT certification, if one existed.
The complete results of AAMI’s 2005 Employment Survey are featured in the Nov/Dec. 2005 issue of AAMI’s journal, Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology (BI&T).
Mergers are Rare
In recent years, there has been much discussion about what is considered the inevitable merging of biomedical/clinical engineering and IT departments in hospitals. Many medical devices are now PC-based; and increasingly, hospitals are working to network all their devices, experts have noted. For all this talk, however, the vast majority of these departments remain separate.
Only 3% of survey respondents said that they work in a blended department. Those interviewed for this story expressed little surprise at these statistics, but indicated a belief that in time, change will take place.
Chris Riha, director of clinical system engineering and imaging at Carilion Health Systems in Roanoke, VA, works for a facility where both clinical engineering and IT are under the umbrella of a technology services group. “As technology continues to push toward the integration of medical devices into hospital networks, I think it only natural that IT and clinical engineering integrate as well,” he says.
Barry Bruns, director of biomedical engineering at Genesis Technology Partners at the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, says that the trend is being propelled by the word “technology.”
“Most people relate technology with computers. When administrators are looking for their personal technology needs, they see computers, Internet, high-speed connections, PDAs,” he says. “These are controlled by” information systems and technology (IS&T).
At some hospitals, not only do the departments remain separate, but so do the functions. David Stiles, biomedical engineering supervisor at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in Long Beach, CA, says IT-related tasks make up less than 3% of his staff’s job function.
Advantages to blended departments include cross training, sharing expertise, and efficiency. In addition, both sets of employees would be on the same team — with common goals and a single agenda. “A merger would also pool resources and give biomedical a seat at the administrative level that isn’t present in most hospitals,” notes Rick Smart, a CBET at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City.
There are obstacles to this scenario, however. Politics will play a role; and the realignment of titles, responsibilities, and fiscal needs will not sit well with some managers. There are also more practical concerns. “The two departments must first share common projects and task delegations to see how best to fit each entity into one unit. The aim would be to avoid duplication of common tasks,” says Stiles.
In addition, each group may have to bear new responsibilities. “IT departments have had the luxury of not being under the patient safety thumb of JCAHO and other accreditation agencies as biomed departments have,” notes Gregory Perry, a BMET II at Colquitt Regional Medical Center in Moultrie, GA.
Riha cautions, however, that when looking at the possibility of an integrated department, it’s “important to focus on the technology merging, rather than organizational changes. What is imperative is that there needs to be a sharing of knowledge and experience between the historical roles of IT and CE to support the current and emerging technologies.”
Not everyone sees this blending as a good thing. Biomed and IT are “different animals,” says Bruns. “The blur comes from the fact that most of the biomed equipment manufacturers are migrating away from proprietary systems for network communication and software development, and are going to more commercial off-the-shelf components,” he explains.
He notes that the two departments have different support models. “While IS&T understands the criticality of system uptime, their typical client is business applications associated with departments” that make requests during regular business hours Monday through Friday, Bruns says. For biomeds, by contrast, “the only backup at times can be a repair/replacement of a system. A down system can be critical to the life of a patient and can seriously affect quality of care.”
IT Certification for Biomeds
Although 56% of those surveyed expressed an interest in an IT certification if one existed, some reacted cautiously to such a suggestion. Smart says he would consider an IT certification, but would first “look at the time and cost investment versus the possible payback.” Riha notes that “while any preparation for a certification is a valuable educational experience, it may not have a financial payoff for those who achieve it.”
IT certifications do currently exist (for networking, and for manufacturer-specific products, for example), but they are not geared to medical equipment. Smart considered getting A+ certified, but chose not to when he realized that the benefits didn’t outweigh the costs.
Perry obtained Cisco network certification, although it “has no bearing on my salary, title, or job description,” he says.
“My hospital does not recognize the need for a biomed to be IT trained or certified—they already have an IT department,” he says. However, Perry and his colleagues are asked not only to troubleshoot and repair medical equipment, but to “troubleshoot the software used in such applications and to educate the end user,” he adds. With or without certification, “I believe all biomeds need to learn to speak the language and acronyms of the IS&T folks,” says Bruns.
So what does the future hold for biomeds and IT? “If I only had a crystal ball,” says Bruns, adding, “I think the trend will probably be more biomed departments get merged in some way with IS&T.”
“I foresee the need to have a one-stop shop of sorts, with biomeds who have IT backgrounds and IT people with biomed backgrounds,” Perry says. In large part, whether the two will merge will depend on the particular institution and its needs. Although more hospitals will likely move in that direction, a model structure will be difficult to define.
Source: AAMI News: Vol. 40, No.11, December 2005