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The group chose the name during a Future Forum on April 28 and 29 facilitated by AAMI; and attended by clinical engineers, biomedical equipment technicians, educators and other industry professionals. The group developed a vision for the future of the profession by reviewing past milestones, assessing current trends, and considering future opportunities. 

This vision for the future includes, but is not limited to, a continued focus on safety, risk management, technical support of medical devices and clinical technologies, and financial stewardship. The vision also includes management of healthcare technologies that are highly integrated and interoperable. Healthcare Technology Management professionals will be fully integrated members of the healthcare delivery team, and will have significant influence in the management of all healthcare technology. In addition, the career path will be better defined, with a supportive educational infrastructure.

“We concluded that the new name was accurate, easily understood by the public and other healthcare workers, and allowed for expansion of the field in the future,” said Pat Lynch, CBET, CCE, a biomedical support specialist at Global Medical Imaging.

The group is soliciting public comments about the recommended name and the future direction of the field. The comment period will be open until Tuesday, August 2, 2011. You can submit your comments at this link.

In selecting the name and outlining the vision, some of the more critical elements of common ground identified by the meeting participants included management of the full life cycle for healthcare technology, partnering with healthcare providers, and management of healthcare technology beyond the walls of healthcare organizations (for example, in the home healthcare setting).

“The event included animated discussions and passionate debates,” says Karen Waninger, the director of the Clinical Engineering Department at Community Health Network in Indianapolis, IN, and a leader of AAMI’s Technology Management Council (TMC).

Members of the group stressed that the recommended name defines the profession, but is not intended to change individual job titles.

“At this point we have identified a name for the overall profession. It is just the first step of many in our journey to take a unified approach to the management of healthcare technology,” says Ken Maddock, vice president of clinical engineering and telecomm services for Baylor Health Care System in Dallas, TX, and a member of AAMI’s Board of Directors and TMC.

Maddock says that ‘Healthcare Technology Management’ gives the field “an opportunity to stretch and grow, but is still indicative of what we are.”

In fact, many have already been using ‘Healthcare Technology Management’ as a descriptor for the profession for some time. But it has been just one of many names that have been used over the years to describe the profession. Thus, a key goal was to arrive at a unified name that all in the profession can use to identify the vital role healthcare technology managers provide.

Efforts to create uniform job titles for members of the profession will continue in the future.

Participants noted that a universal realization of the future they outlined for Healthcare Technology Management should result in improved clinical outcomes; reduced waste; better quality, availability, and integration of equipment; better training for clinicians on complex medical systems; and other important benefits.

For more information about the Future Forum, contact Patrick Bernat at pbernat@aami.org.

Below is a list of the meeting attendees:

• Barbara Christe—Associate Professor and Program Director, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
• Leanne Cordisco—HCIT Program Manager, GE Healthcare
• Kurt Finke— Director, Office of Healthcare Technology Management, Veterans Health Administration
• Dave Francoeur—Vice President of Operations, CREST Services
• Al Gresch—Director of Corporate Clinical Engineering, Aurora Health Care
• Steve Grimes—Vice President, Enterprise Resource Planning, Linc Health LLC
• Larry Hertzler—Vice President, Clinical Engineering, ARAMARK Healthcare
• Salim Kai—Clinical Engineer, University of Michigan Health System
• Jim Keller—Vice President, Health Technology Evaluation and Safety, ECRI Institute
• Paul Kelley—Director, Biomedical Engineering and Green Initiative, Washington Hospital Healthcare System
• Ashley Kindig—Clinical Engineering Tech, Martha Jefferson Hospital
• Pat Lynch—Regional Director, Global Medical Imaging (GMI)
• Ken Maddock—Vice President of Clinical Engineering and Telecomm Services, Baylor Health Care System
• Jack McNerny—Biomedical Engineer, Ethicon Endo-Surgery
• Al Moretti—Director of Clinical Engineering, Loyola University Medical Center
• Dave Scott—Biomedical Technician, The Children’s Hospital of Denver
• Rose Seavey—President/CEO, Seavey Healthcare Consulting, Inc.
• Bob Stiefel—AAMI's Core Curriculum Committee Consultant
• Larry Tanner—President, Capital Area Health Consortium
• Dustin Telford—Director of Clinical Engineering, earthMed and Clinical Engineering Equipment Technician, Intermountain Healthcare
• Alberto Vasquez—Director of Biomedical Equipment Technology, St. Philips College
• Karen Waninger—Director of Clinical Engineering, Community Hospital @ Indianapolis
• Steve Yelton—Program Chairman ET and IT Divisions, Cincinnati State Technical & Community College

Founded in 1967, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) is a nonprofit organization representing a unique alliance of nearly 6,000 members from around the world united by one mission to increase the understanding and beneficial use of medical instrumentation through effective standards and educational programs, and publications.