AAMI, ASHE Reps Meet with CMS
In late June, representatives of AAMI and American Society of Healthcare Engineers (ASHE) met with U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) officials to discuss the recent CMS directive regarding preventive maintenance (PM) practices. The meeting was described by participants as both ‘productive’ and ‘cordial,’ with an understanding that discussions would continue.
Karen Waninger, a member of AAMI’s Technology Management Council (TMC) who attended the meeting, said, “From my perspective, the meeting was excellent. The CMS representatives were truly interested in doing what is right for the healthcare organizations and ultimately the patients, just as we are. It was an opportunity for us to understand where the past communication gaps have been, which is what resulted in the misaligned understandings between CMS and the healthcare facility representatives.”
Waninger represented AAMI, along with AAMI President Mary Logan and other AAMI staff; and Robert Stiefel, president of RHS Biomedical Engineering Consulting.
Waninger noted that the CMS reps were “surprised by the field’s response to the December 2011 Clarification, because they thought they were giving us more opportunity to optimize our programs than we had previously. As meeting progressed, conversations allowed each of us to gain a wider perspective, and to talk about what would be the most beneficial for patient care and safety in the future. We ended with a commitment to collect and provide more information that CMS believes will be meaningful to them. It is our understanding from the meeting that CMS wants an evidence-based standard, something national in scope, so that their surveyors can use an objective, scientifically sound approach to assess whether a healthcare organization’s preventive maintenance program meets some minimum performance standards, based on sound risk assessment. They also want a consistent process for any adjustments to maintenance intervals on all equipment. Their end goal is similar to the profession’s own end goal. We just need to keep working on finding common ground for ‘how’ we get there.
“All considered, I view this as very positive for our profession, one step further along that road to becoming unified and recognized for the value we provide to Healthcare organizations.”
Both sides agreed that further discussions would be welcome.
Posted: July 3, 2012