AAMI and FDA to Hold Interoperability Summit

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) will join forces with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to host a fall summit on how to improve interoperability in healthcare—without compromising patient safety.

The summit, scheduled for Oct. 2-3 in Herndon, VA, will focus on the challenges of connecting medical devices and networks.

While there is interoperability in consumer products, it’s significantly harder to achieve in healthcare because of the need to maintain patient safety as a priority at all times, says AAMI President Mary Logan.

“Consider just the challenges in making wireless technologies work for medical devices that monitor life-threatening conditions, deliver medication infusions, direct alarms to caregivers, or sustain life,” she says. “The multitude of potential safety issues all lined up is a jolt of reality. Now add all of the other elements needed to bring about true interoperability with clinical technology and the complexity is mind boggling.”

The goal of the summit is to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to identify the primary safety issues and develop priorities for how to achieve greater interoperability.

The format will resemble that of previous AAMI summits on alarms management, reprocessing reusable medical devices, and infusion pumps.

Founded in 1967, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) is a nonprofit organization representing a unique alliance of over 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.