Horizons Series

CONTENTS

Click on each title to view article in PDF format. Members-only articles indicated with .

• FDA Issues Cybersecurity Reminder
• AAMI Launches New IT Committee
• CE-IT Community Offers New Resources

• Are You Ready to Take Ownership of this Brave New World of IT Integration?
• The Case for a Systems Focus in Healthcare

• Update on IEC 80001-1 Aiming for patient safety in the Networked Healthcare Environment

• Medical Device Interoperability and the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Initiative
• When Medical Devices Talk to Each Other: The Promise and Challenges of Interoperability

• Distributed Antenna Systems for Healthcare
• Beyond Inventory Control: Understanding RFID and its Applications

IT Horizons thanks the following companies for their support.

• ACCE
• Anritsu
• General Anesthetic Services
• HIMSS
• RSTI
• Tech Systems
• Technology in Medicine
• Underwriters Laboratories

• Feedback
• AAMI Technology Management Council
• CE-IT online

PREPARING FOR CHANGE

The rapid pace of change in medical
technology is breathtaking and affects everyone who works in healthcare. In this issue of IT Horizons, the fifth in the series, we aim to offer guidance to help you navigate this brave new world. We’re proud to team up with the American College of Clinical Engineering and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society to produce this resource.

In the medical device domain, concerns about electrical safety have been replaced with concerns about the emergence of new information technologies and the convergence of these technologies with medical devices.

We now worry about network security, interoperability, and reliability, as well as the impact that the electronic health record (EHR) will have on connectivity. There is frustration about too many bedside alarms and more complex preventive maintenance schedules. The expense of supporting and replacing devices — particularly those with IT components — is stretching equipment budgets.

Consider that services like labs and drug dispensation are being decentralized from a single location in a hospital to every patient room, and also that devices are migrating away from a controlled hospital environment into the homecare environment. Add in challenges with wireless technologies and spectrum management and it’s clear that we all have anxiety about how to keep up with the changes and learn new skills.

What demands will be made on manufacturers to produce devices that are EHR “ready” and integrated into the overall healthcare network? What standards will need to be developed? What will be the government’s role in regulating integrated devices? How will the roles of clinical engineers and biomeds change?

We hope this IT Horizons gives you tools you need to begin positioning yourself and your staff for success in the future, and tools you can use to help your organization be prepared as well. The integrated environment is coming. It’s time for us all to get ready today.

Mary Logan, JD, CAE
President, AAMI