Recently added articles from 24x7:
A wealth of options: at Orlando Health, innovative budgeting spreads the risk and enhances choices.(Cover story)
May 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Financial flexibility is in short supply at most biomedical/clinical engineering departments. Without the freedom to allocate dollars where they are needed most, division heads often toil within their own silos, making financial decisions based on narrowly ...
Caught in the middle: integrated devices with multiple vendors can mean multiple headaches, but good communication and planning can help you find your way through the maze.
May 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The days when a single vendor provided all the pieces of a monitoring system, radiology solution, or any of the other myriad technical needs of the hospital enterprise are over--if they ever existed in the first place. Among biomeds' biggest ...
Compelled to change: industry leaders talk about what the profession nees now to come out on top.
May 01, 2009; ... Tumultuous times can lead to changes that may vastly improve an organization. Companies that don't have the luxury of waiting out a storm find themselves compelled to take action in order to stay in the game. Our world faces those times now, and no one can deny that tough times have spread ...
Synergy with IT? Just do it.(Networking)(information technology)
May 01, 2009; ... Unless you have been living in a cave for the past few years, you know that the work of clinical engineering is increasingly similar to that of many branches of health care information technology (HIT). There is strong evidence that the specialties are moving closer together. In many ...
Overcoming ultrasound obstacles.(Service Solutions)
May 01, 2009; ... In the 21st century, your first baby picture is likely to be snapped in the womb, and the same with the first video. Ultrasound exams-two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and four-dimensional--have become routine steps in prenatal care. With today's image quality, parents who do not want to ...
JC laboratory accreditation program.(CCE Prep)(Joint Commission )
May 01, 2009; ... The Joint Commission has several different accreditation programs in addition to the one for hospital accreditation that we are most familiar with. It offers accreditation programs for ambulatory care, behavioral health care, critical access hospitals, home care, hospitals, laboratory ...
Ultrasound probe repair.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
May 01, 2009 ... MEDRAD Multi Vendor Service (MVS), Warrendale, Pa, launches its TotalRepair service--a guaranteed repair solution on select ultrasound probes. Aimed at making efficient use of shrinking health care budgets and enabled by MVS's 100% probe repair capabilities, the new service provides ...
Service rebate.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
May 01, 2009 ... Ampronix Inc, Irvine, Calif, has developed its own economic stimulus program that will provide approved medical facilities with a $125 rebate for service or repairs exceeding $500. The program will offer the discount to both new and existing customers. After making a qualifying purchase, ...
Medical device textbook.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 01, 2009 ... Medical Device Technology: Principles and Design by BCIT faculty member and program head Anthony Chan, MEng, MSc, PEng, CEng, CCE, published by Charles C. Thomas Publisher Ltd, Springfield, Ill, provides a resource for both biomedical engineering programs and active biomeds looking to ...
Training and reference textbook.(Tools of the Trade)(A Practicum for Biomedical Engineering and Technology Management Issues)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 01, 2009 ... A Practicum for Biomedical Engineering & Technology Management Issues, edited by Leslie R. Atles, CCE, CBET, published by Kendall Hunt Publishing, Dubuque, Iowa, provides one of the most comprehensive resources on biomedical engineering and training. The book focuses on broadening and ...
Focus on: medical missions.
May 01, 2009; ... During a biomedical mission trip to India in 1992, David Harrington, PhD, a health care consultant from Medway, Mass, heard the venerable Mother Theresa speak an inspiring phrase to him that he has never forgotten: "Helping others is the greatest thing a person can do with their life." ...
First call parts.(Industry insider)(Interview)
May 01, 2009; ... Known for the better part of its 13-year existence as Blue Ridge Medical Imaging, First Call Parts, Salem, Va, recently underwent both a name change and an extensive rebranding process. The former official Siemens refurbishers decided to rethink the concept of parts testing and expanded ...
TJC: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.(Soapbox)(The Joint Commission )
May 01, 2009; ... By now, many 24x7 readers are aware that The Joint Commission (TJC) has drastically reorganized its accreditation standards for 2009. The good news is that only a few substantive changes have been made in the standards, so extensive revisions of existing Medical Equipment Management (M.EM) ...
Take it up a notch.(Up Front)
May 01, 2009; ... Is your department barely holding on, or is it pushing aggressively forward? Clinical/biomedical engineering departments face tough challenges these days. Budget freezes and cuts have put new equipment purchases on hold, translating to more pressure on technicians to keep older equipment ...
Linked in: the team at Adventist Health keeps improving quality, productivity, and efficiency through connectivity.(Cover story)
Apr 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Biomedical equipment technicians who hear the word "networking" and think first of a cocktail party or Facebook might want to consider a class on connectivity. While human connections are important, in the clinical/biomedical engineering world it is the ...
Managing the budget crunch: in times like these, with virtually no money for new equipment, cash-strapped facilities are relying on biomed departments to keep vital machines running.
Apr 01, 2009; ... I would be nice if the biomedical world could blissfully hunker down and avoid the consequences of the down economy, but that is resoundingly not the case in facilities both large and small across the country. Budget cuts and freezes are commonplace as clinical/biomedical engineering ...
Regulatory overview.(Networking)
Apr 01, 2009; ... Our colleague John Halamka, MD, MS, CIO of Beth Israel Hospital and chair of the American National Standards Institute/The Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (ANSI/ HITSP) activities, was the first person to introduce me to the concept of "quilted patchwork" to describe the ...
Safety check: servicing MRIs.(Service Solutions)(magnetic resonance imaging )
Apr 01, 2009; ... Using common sense can prevent a lot of safety incidents around magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology, but part of the problem posed by exercising that simple precaution is that the invisible power produced by the device cannot be seen, heard, or felt--that is, unless an error has ...
Fundamentals of blood gas analysis.(ICC Prep)
Apr 01, 2009; ... Blood gas analysis is an important diagnostic tool and an essential part of managing a patient's oxygenation status and acid-base balance. An understanding of the basic components of blood gas analysis will help you on several areas of the exam, including the anatomy and physiology ...
Test instrument analysis software.(Tools of the Trade)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Fluke Corp, Everett, Wash, now offers version 3.4 of FlukeView forms, an enhanced update of its analysis and reporting software for digital multimeters (DMMs) and other test instruments. The software helps users download readings from meters into special forms to spot trends, document ...