‘Future Forum II’ Offers Glimpse into Future of Healthcare Technology Management

Participants at the recent ‘Future Forum II’ event—held at AAMI headquarters and attended by clinical engineers, biomedical equipment technicians, educators, a student, and others—agreed that the healthcare technology management (HTM) field needs to take on a more assertive, strategic role in healthcare. The Sept. 10–12 forum was part of an effort to increase recognition of HTM professionals and the vital role they play in healthcare, and to explore the ideal roles for the field in an evolving healthcare and technology landscape.

The first Future Forum was held at AAMI headquarters in 2011, resulting in the creation of a new vision for the field and the unifying name of ‘healthcare technology management. This year’s Future Forum built upon last year’s foundation.

“We have to take on a leadership role as opposed to our traditional advisor role,” said participant Daniel DeMaria, biomedical engineering manager at Olathe Medical Center in Olathe, KS.

After three days of spirited debate and discussion, participants agreed on a broad series of steps to advance the field. As they did last year, participants challenged one another to consider how best to advance the work of HTM professionals and prepare them for an even greater role in modern healthcare.

The group recommended some specific actions for HTM professionals to take, such as providing annual reports to the C-Suite of their facility—including a clinical device replacement prioritization list—which can help in developing budgets. This gives hospital management “objective data, as opposed to nursing and doctors saying they need to replace this device for the new one,” said participant Heidi Horn, vice president of Clinical Engineering Services for SSM Integrated Health Technologies in St. Louis, MO.

The group also advocated for the development of a clear career ladder to chart the steps an entry-level HTM professional might take to reach a C-Suite position. “The career ladder would emphasize the importance of financial knowledge,” said participant Jack McNerny, biomedical engineer with Ethicon Endo-Surgery in Cincinnati, OH. “This includes the financial implications of implementing new technology,” and “how to manage hospital dollars and resources to the greatest value,” he said.

Collaboration with information technology (IT) departments was a major theme at Future Forum II. “HTM departments need to address service level agreements, which define the amount of service for a device, for converging technologies,” said participant Steve Yelton, chairman of the Electrical Engineering Technologies Department in the Center for Innovative Technologies at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College in Cincinnati, OH. Yelton added that “standards can be developed to help HTM and IT departments define responsibilities.”

Evolving job descriptions and titles were an important theme at the event as well. Participants agreed to form an ad-hoc committee to further discuss job titles and descriptions.

One segment of the event—called ‘Blue Sky’—explored what HTM would do in a ‘perfect world.’ In this perfect world, participants suggested that HTM professionals would provide leadership in several key areas. For example, HTM professionals would:

• Oversee technology use in non-traditional settings.
• Lead the clinical equipment acquisition process.
• Promote standardization.
• Manage the use of simulation technology for clinician training.
• Educate the C-Suite on clinical realities of technology.
• Facilitate communication among different groups to solve technology issues.

AAMI President Mary Logan said the forum produced “a great understanding of other perspectives. Transitions are hard. Healthcare is in transition, the field is in transition, and technology is in transition.”

Added Ray Laxton, chair of AAMI’s Board of Directors and vice president of strategic partnerships at ARAMARK Healthcare Technologies in Charlotte, NC: “There was disagreement on specific points, but complete agreement on the end goal.” That goal? “Defining what we want to be.”

A final report of the event is available here.

AAMI, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, is a nonprofit organization founded in 1967. It is a diverse community of nearly 7,000 healthcare technology professionals united by one important mission—supporting the healthcare community in the development, management, and use of safe and effective medical technology.