INTERMOUNTAIN CLINICAL

INSTRUMENTATION SOCIETY
ICIS – Newsletter Fall 2010/Annual Meeting

FEATURE ARTICLE: New Plan

PHILIPS MEDICAL WIRELESS SOLUTIONS
Presented By: Olivia Hecht
There are a variety of wireless
technologies in use today in the
hospital environment. Whether
using WMTS 802.11, 802.15 and/or a
proprietary RFID technologies. It is
important to understand that
80001. Philips Healthcare is
dedicated to providing solutions
designed around the needs of its
customers and patients. At Philips,
we believe we can make a difference
by removing boundaries in
Promotes Biomed Profession -
AAMI News
http://www.aami.org/publications/AA
MINews/Oct2010/newplan.html
They are the unsung heroes of
most hospitals, toiling behind the
scenes to help deliver quality
patient care. But the lack of a
uniform job description for
biomeds could, some experts say,
hold the profession back as
technology evolves, and AAMI
wants to change that.

technologies continue to evolve and healthcare with our innovative and

“one size does not fit all” when it
comes to wireless technology.
Hospital IT departments need a
wireless strategy in
place and clear
guidelines between
IT and Clinical
Engineering to
ensure patient safety when using
“With the interface of biomedical
affordable technology solutions technology and information
technology (IT), it is crucial that
throughout the entire care cycle. the biomedical technology
profession be recognized as the
We combine our unique clinical experts in patient safety when it
comes to equipment,” says Marcy
expertise with Petrini, PhD, chair of AAMI’s
Board of Directors and professor
human insights to of medicine at the University of
Mississippi Medical Center in
develop solutions Jackson, MS. “Biomeds must play
that deliver value a vital role in that interface. But
they won’t be recognized if the
throughout the care players don’t even have a
standard job description among
cycle: from disease prevention to hospitals.”

wireless medical devices. We will go screening and diagnosis, through to One of four goals in AAMI’s new
over some recommendations around treatment, monitoring and health strategic plan, which will go to the
Board of Directors for final
802.11 deployments that Clinical management – wherever care is approval in November, is to define
the profession and qualifications
Engineers can discuss with their IT given: in the hospital or at home of clinical/ biomedical technology
managers, and the profession’s
colleagues and also provide an Slides begin on (pg6) role and value in healthcare
http://www.icis-biomed.org/Philips delivery.
overview of and an update on IEC
Over the next five years, AAMI
will also seek to achieve three
Biomedical Insight other goals:
Whether you support the network or the medical devices interfaced with the To become known in the
healthcare community as the
network, inevitably IT and Biomed departments must learn to collaborate for preferred resource for high
patient safety and the collection of useful diagnostic information. While quality and objective
information on medical
some Biomeds don’t feel comfortable working with networks and information technology.
(pg2)
systems, some healthcare IT staff members don’t really understand the
priority biomedical systems must take or the basics of the diagnostic (pg2)
 Intermountain Clinical Instrumentation Society Page 2 of 8

information sent across the network. If the predictions of key organizations

such as the American College of Clinical Engineering (ACCE) or the
To identify actions to improve
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) are patient outcomes from the
consensus of broad-based
correct, we will see more hybrid professionals, the CE-IT’s! If you support discussions on medical
either side of the systems now, I encourage you to join ICIS to stay abreast of technology.
To create awareness within the
the debates, the changes in industry standards and regulations, and the healthcare community that the
interaction of technology,
technical education opportunities that are being made available
people, and their infrastructure
Dustin Telford – Currently works at McKay-Dee and for earthMed. He has been in is crucial to positive patient
outcomes
the field 18 years

The strategic plan includes

ICIS Quarterly Meeting Schedule
http://www.icis-biomed.org/calendar
Date: Feb 03, 2011
Presenter: Bunnell Inc
Topic: “High Frequency Ventilation:
From an Idea to a Device”
Location – Pioneer Valley Hospital
several very specific objectives
that will be undertaken in the
next three years to achieve
each of the four goals. For
Date: Aug 04, 2011
example, with respect to
advancing the clinical/
Presenter - TBA biomedical technology
Topic: TBA profession, AAMI will work to
define the competencies and
qualifications that biomeds
Location - TBA
should possess.

Date: May 05, 2011 Date: Nov 03, 2011 The goal of spurring action that
Presenter – TBA Presenter - TBA improves patient outcomes
Topic: TBA Topic: TBA plays to AAMI’s strengths of
diversity. “AAMI is not an
Location – McKay-Dee Hospital Center Location - TBA
organization of a single
profession,” says Carol Davis-
Smith, a director at Premier
ICIS News Inc. and chair of AAMI’s
Technology Management
James Young of Iasis @ Jordan Valley Hospital has accepted an
Council (TMC).
appointment as ICIS Treasurer.
As part of that the goal, AAMI
Intermountain Clinical Instrumentation Society has been approved by
will convene an annual event
the State of Utah and the IRS as a non-profit trade group. Via that addresses priority issues
negotiation ICIS was able to reinstate the previous business which had in medical technology. These
undergone a period of inactivity. events will lead to action items
in the form of products,
19 attend the Fall ICIS meeting held at Jordan Valley Hospital services, or projects
 Intermountain Clinical Instrumentation Society Page 3 of 8

ICIS SoapBox – Don’t Join ICIS

So you have heard about ICIS
from e-mails or from a co-worker
and you are probably thinking it
is not for me or why should I join
or participate in ICIS? Maybe
you are right… here are some
thoughts to consider on why
you shouldn’t join.
You could be a newbie in the
profession and feel that you
know everything there is to
know about being a biomed.
You could think that asking
questions and interacting with
other professionals in your field is
a waste of your valuable time.
Maybe you don’t believe that
you’ll ever have any good ideas
worth sharing with your
colleagues and you think that
ICIS can’t give you an audience
of peers willing to listen and help
you improve your career. It
could be that you are not
interested in meeting the
people who not only know the
profession’s history but also lived
it and made it possible, with
their generous contributions of
time and talent, for you to even
have the job you enjoy
currently.
It could be that you are a
seasoned active professional.
You might be thinking that you
already have all the friends you
will ever need, aka “Best Friend
at Work”, and meeting new
colleagues is a waste of your
time. It could be that you don’t
want anyone to know who you
are and what you do. Why do
they need to know? I mean you
already have a job that will last
you for the rest of your life and
you can see no value in
colleagues regarding you as a
capable professional. You don’t
care about what your peers
think about you. Why would
you want to know about a
possible great opportunity that
might be somewhere else?
Maybe you have seen it all.
There is nothing new out there
that you would like to learn from
friendly and stimulating
interactions with other
professionals that have different
backgrounds and experiences.
Maybe you are close to
retirement or have been retired
from the profession for some
time. The world is not going as
you have planned it and that
makes you grumpy. Just about
any reason is a good reason for
not renewing your membership.
You feel that everything you did
and accomplished was done
without help from anyone. Why
should you waste your time
trying to mentor the young
“whippersnappers” of this day
and age when there was no
one who helped you out?
They’ll probably just annoy you
to death with their curiosity and
willingness to explore new
concepts. The world should
have stayed how you left it 10
years ago! It was working then
and should be good enough
now!!!
So, in conclusion…If the above
statements sound like how you
feel, whatever stage of your
career you are in, then by all
means DON’T join…but if the
opposite is true then please sign
up for ICIS at www.icis-
biomed.org and join

ICIS Website: http://www.icis-biomed.org/

Request for Articles/Comments to – If you would like to write and submit an article or have an improvement,
idea, or comment, please submit to: editor@icis-biomed.org

Request for Volunteers – There are many more opportunities if you want to offer your time and expertise to the
Intermountain Clinical Instrumentation Society, please submit to: volunteer@icis-biomed.org
 Intermountain Clinical Instrumentation Society Page 4 of 8

ICIS Spotlight: Bio-Med Engineering, Inc. – Robert Nannini, President

Bio-Med is the leading independent medical equipment service organization in the
Intermountain Region. Bio-Med was established in 1990 and has a combined total of over
200 years of technical service experience.

Bio-Med’s goal is to provide our customers with the highest standard of biomedical service and support in the market
place. Bio-Med is a fully licensed and insured medical service organization with established business relationships in
hospitals, surgery centers, clinics, laboratories, universities, colleges, medical research labs, independent physician
offices, as well as city, county, state and federal governmental agencies.

Bio-Med provides quality service and repairs on approximately 500 types of medical equipment, including:
physiological monitors, fluid delivery, respiratory, anesthesia, sterilizers and medical lasers. Bio-Med maintains
compliance with State and federal regulatory organizations. Bio-Med is the authorized service representative for over
100 medical equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and distributors.

Bio-Med provides consulting and support to our customers in relationship with many regulatory agencies including:

*AAAASF *AAAHC *AAMI *ANSI *CAP *CLIA *TJC *NFPA *STATE OF UTAH

Bio-Med Engineering, Inc. is an Affiliate Member of Medical Equipment Repair Associates, MERA®, the nation’s oldest
and largest independent medical service organization. The President of Bio-Med Engineering, Inc. sits on the Board of
this successful and prestigious organization.
http://www.bio-medenginc.com/

In Recognition: The ICIS Board wishes to thank Bio-Med Engineering, Inc. for their contribution and sponsorship toward
ICIS incorporation as a non-profit group.

Biomedical Congress: Organized and

Sponsored by FMESA (Federation of Medical Equipment
Support Associations)
http://www.fmesa.org/

The MD Expo is a conference of biomedical equipment

support professionals that meets in the spring and fall each
year. It changes locations and has been growing steadily.
The MD Expo consists of several instructional seminars and
the exhibit hall where service companies and manufacturers
have booths. The MD Expo is primarily sponsored by MD
publishing which publishes the magazines "Technation",
"Medical Dealer" and several others. This years meeting
was also the 2nd annual meeting of the Biomedical
Congress.
FMESA was formally organized in 2009 to bring together the
various biomedical associations around the country. Dan
Whatcott was elected to be on the executive board of
FMESA with Fred McMutrie as President and Pat Lynch as
Treasurer.

(pg5)
 Intermountain Clinical Instrumentation Society
The Mission statement of FMESA is:
"We the Associations that represent the medical equipment
Service and Support Professionals (SSP) recognize the need
to amplify a clear and unified voice. We hereby organize in
fellowship to promote our profession through the
advancement of standards, benchmarks, best practices, and
by fostering harmonious communications between the
biomedical organizations and the greater medical
community. Our purpose is to promote quality patient care,
safety, and efficient management of medical equipment. We
dedicate ourselves to work as agents of change to elevate
and promote a positive image of the medical equipment
service and support community"
To date several organizations have joined FMESA while
others are still waiting on the sidelines to see if it will be a
viable organization. Biomedical Associations that have
joined FMESA include: Atlantic Biomedical, Bay Area
Association of Medical Instrumentation (BAAMI), Biomedical
Engineering Society of Texas (BEST), East Tennessee
Biomedical Association (ETBA), Florida Biomedical Society
(FBS), Kentucky Association for Medical Instrumentation
(KAMI), North Carolina Biomedical Association (NCBA),
Indiana Biomedical Society, Mid-Eastern Pennsylvania
Clinical Instrumentation Society (MEPCIS), New England
Society for Clinical Engineering (NESCE), and the South
Florida Association for Medical Instrumentation (SFAMI).
At the meeting in Austin it was decided by the FMESA
executive board that FMESA should try to initiate an active
role working with AAMI, and various educators to set
minimum educational standards for Biomedical Equipment
Technicians. Apparently some less than ethical for-profit
educators have latched onto the idea that you can train a
BMET in a few months without ever stepping foot into a
hospital or medical facility. These students are now seeking
employment and not having much success.
The question on everyone’s mind was if AAMI could give its
"good housekeeping" seal of approval to a college or school
so that employers would know that the BMET student had
been through a proper course of training?
Page 5 of 8
AAMI seemed to think that they could help but it would
have to be discussed and approved by the board. A new
educator’s roundtable will be held at the upcoming AAMI
conference in June 2011 in San Antonio, Texas. The
Department of Defense (DOD) training facility has
offered to let FMESA tour the new facility near San
Antonio as part of the educator’s roundtable discussion in
June.
One wrinkle that came up in this discussion was
the announcement that AAMI is considering
adopting a new formal name for the biomedical
profession. For several years it has been argued if
we are biomedical equipment technicians or
clinical engineers. Does it really make any
difference? Perhaps, and that's why AAMI has
decided to tackle this thorny issue.
The FMESA board adjourned with a commitment to assist
the educators and AAMI in establishing minimum
education requirements. While the Texas licensing issue
was on a lot of people's minds, it's not clear if the
associations represented by FMESA want to adopt a
resolution calling on FMESA to lobby for or against this
type of legislation
Dan Whatcott is President of Biomedical Eqpt.
Services – Idaho
(Cont.)
Olivia Hecht & Sean Elder with Philips
 Intermountain Clinical Instrumentation Society Page 6 of 8

Wireless Applications in Healthcare

Applications Communication enhancements
Location based services o Event Management
o Asset Tracking (e.g. Secondary alerting
Voice over IP over Wi-Fi o Push to talk communicators
Paging Workflow enhancements
WoWs o Spot checks with a direct
Bedside Charting feed out HL7
Wireless spot check monitoring o Remote data viewing for
Wireless sensing and control for improved consultation
lighting and HVAC systems o Temperature sensors
Short range connectivity eliminating clipboards
between body sensors and Improved resource utilization and
monitoring devices productivity
o Community hospitals
leveraging intensivists at
remote sights
o Electronic data feeds for
EMR/HER
o Asset location

ISO/IEC 80001-1 Overview

A voluntary, international standard applying a risk management process for IT networks
incorporating medical devices (a Medical IT-Network)
o Spanning operational phases from planning to decommissioning
o Sibling documents called “Technical Reports” for further details

Three “Key Properties” –Safety, Effectiveness, Data & System Security

Creates a “Responsible Organization” that establishes a “Risk Management Process” and

appoints a Risk Manager that maintains a “Medical IT-Network Risk Management File”

Accompanying Technical reports (TR):

o Wireless Guidance TR
o Healthcare Delivery Organization Guidance TR
o Security TR
o Step by Step Risk Management Process TR
o Other…
Intermountain Clinical Instrumentation Society Page 7 of 8

For complete powerpoint presentation

visit the ICIS Webite
 Intermountain Clinical Instrumentation Society Page 8 of 8

ICIS Board On Point with ICIS

Coming Soon!
President – Dustin Telford
McKay-Dee Hospital Center The Joint Commission Blotter – Updates from recent facility inspections,
president@icis-biomed.org new NPSG (National Patient Safety Goals) applicable to CE and Sentinel
Event Alerts.
Vice-President – Joe Divito 1. Who was inspected in 2010? – Share your experience
2. Who is up for inspection in 2011? – We will look for your feedback
Iasis Healthcare
3. How has your institution managed the Joint Commissions Alert 42?
vicpresident@icis-biomed.org
From The Front Line – Input from your front line CE staff
Treasurer - James Young 1. Tech tips/Device Troubleshooting Advise
Jordan Valley Hospital 2. Training Needs
3. Forums
treasurer@icis-biomed.org

Public Relations – Clay Lantz

Bio-Med Engineering Inc
Joint Commission Blotter
pr@icis-biomed.org Joint Commission Sentinal Event Alert 42 – Scott James
“converging technologies” Health Information Technology (HIT) and The

Webmanager – Adam Drew interrelationship between medical devices, Clinical Engineering/Biomed

McKay-Dee Hospital Center and HIT are becoming a increasingly necessary within healthcare

webmanager@icis-biomed.org organizations.

Newsletter – Scott James Where is your facility, organization at safely implementing health

McKay-Dee Hospital Center information and converging technologies:

editor@icis-biomed.org
Key Points:

Board Member – Robert Nannini 1. Examine workflow processes and procedures for risks and
inefficiencies.
Bio-Med Engineering, Inc 2. Actively involve clinicians and staff who will ultimately use or be
board7@icis-biomed.org affected by the technology.
3. Assess your organization’s technology needs beforehand.
4. During the introduction of new technology, continuously monitor for
Board Member – Dan Whatcott problems.
Biomedical Eqpt Services-Idaho 5. Establish a training program for all types of clinicians and operations
staff.
board1@icis-biomed.org
6. Develop and communicate policies delineating staff authorization.
7. Prior to taking a technology live, ensure that all standardized order
sets and guidelines are developed.
8. Develop a graduated system of safety alerts in the new technology
9. Develop a system that mitigates potential harmful computerized
provider order entry CPOE.
10. To improve safety, provide and environment that protects staff
involved in data entry.
11. After implementation, continually reassess and enhance safety
effectiveness.
12. After implementation, continually monitor and report errors and
near misses.
13. Re-evaluate the applicability of security and confidentiality
protocols.