Subject(s)
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. , Equipment Failure Analysis/standards , Equipment Safety/standards , Equipment and Supplies/standards , Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations , Maintenance/standards , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Guideline Adherence/standards , United StatesSubject(s)
Biomedical Engineering/methods , Biomedical Engineering/organization & administration , Delivery of Health Care/methods , Delivery of Health Care/organization & administration , Systems Integration , Biomedical Engineering/instrumentation , Biomedical Engineering/trends , Delivery of Health Care/trends , United StatesSubject(s)
Biomedical Engineering/methods , Biomedical Engineering/organization & administration , Risk Management/methods , Risk Management/organization & administration , Safety Management/methods , Safety Management/organization & administration , Security Measures/organization & administration , Equipment Failure Analysis/methods , Risk Factors , United StatesSubject(s)
Biomedical Engineering/methods , Biomedical Engineering/trends , Delivery of Health Care/methods , Delivery of Health Care/trends , Medical Laboratory Science/methods , Medical Laboratory Science/trends , Technology Assessment, Biomedical/methods , Biotechnology/instrumentation , Biotechnology/methods , Technology Assessment, Biomedical/trends , United StatesSubject(s)
Biomedical Engineering/methods , Biomedical Engineering/organization & administration , Medical Laboratory Science/methods , Patient Care Management/methods , Patient Care Management/organization & administration , Professional Competence , Technology Assessment, Biomedical/methods , Biomedical Engineering/education , Biomedical Engineering/trends , Medical Laboratory Science/trends , Organizational Objectives , Planning Techniques , Technology Assessment, Biomedical/trends , United StatesABSTRACT
Bill Gates states in Business @ The Speed of Thought that "the 2000s will be about velocity." This "decade of velocity" is driven by the flow of digital information. Health care organizations should develop a "digital nervous system" that is distinguished from a network of computers by the accuracy, immediacy, and richness of the information it brings to health care workers and by the insight and collaboration made possible by this information. This article provides a clinical engineering perspective on technology in health care in an era of rapid change. It discusses how clinical engineers work with health care professionals to manage and adapt to technological, economic, social, and regulatory forces that are redefining our approach to health care delivery.
Subject(s)
Biomedical Engineering/organization & administration , Information Systems/organization & administration , Quality Assurance, Health Care/organization & administration , Quality of Health Care/organization & administration , Technology Assessment, Biomedical/organization & administration , Diffusion of Innovation , Forecasting , Humans , Models, Organizational , Organizational Innovation , Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care/organization & administration , Safety Management/organization & administration , Social Change , Socioeconomic Factors , United StatesABSTRACT
Clinical engineering is at a strategic inflection point. Technical, economic, regulatory, and cultural dynamics are at work shaping the future of healthcare delivery. As the nature of healthcare delivery is transformed by these forces, the types and mix of technology management and support services needed by the industry are changing significantly. Clinical engineering has a relatively short opportunity to adopt a service model that will meet these changing needs. Delay or failure to adopt an effective service model as we pass through the inflection point will result in a diminished role for clinical engineering in healthcare technology management as other technical professionals move in to fill the need. The question is: will clinical engineering rise to the challenge?
