by
John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter | May 26, 2019
Who’s responsible for this?
Maintaining and repairing medical equipment was largely an HTM job fifteen years ago. Most devices back then were stand-alone with no connection to computers or other systems. Today, a majority are digital-based and transmit data to EHRs, making them both an HTM and IT priority.
“We need to identify and define what are the other jobs, roles, and responsibilities.” said Mike Busdicker, system director of clinical engineering at Intermountain Healthcare in Utah. “Where is there crossover? What do we need to be working together on?”
Asking the right questions is a good start, but figuring out the answers is easier said than done.
“Identifying who has responsibility for what is a challenge, particularly when the HTM systems bleed into the IT realm,” said Busdicker’s colleague, Shawn Anderson, a cybersecurity analyst at Intermountain. “Another challenge is the rapid merging of traditional device systems with what IT would consider IoT. Supporting these kinds of systems takes a different set of skills and different forms of collaboration.”
If a software issue arises within an EKG machine, or it does not display correctly, the responsibility of fixing it falls on a provider’s HTM department. But if the machine stops transferring studies to a network storage platform, is it an issue for the HTM or IT personnel?
Most medical devices were standalone systems 15 years ago
and only require HTM assistance when problem occurred.
Now, many are digital-based and connected to computers,
requiring both HTM and IT expertise.
The answer, according to Codi Nelson, CBET | HTS Team Leader for Crothall Healthcare, could be either one, depending on whether the issue is considered device-based (an HTM responsibility), or within the larger system where the device is integrated (IT). If the responsible party is not identified, confusion can ensue, leading to delays in essential and lifesaving procedures.
“The more devices look less like medical equipment and more like computers, the more nurses are confused as to who manages these devices,” he said. “Depending on the issue, nurses will have to decipher who they should call.”
The frontline of defense is for HTM and IT to educate nursing staff on the proper party to contact for specific issues, according to Nelson. Both departments require a system of communication in which they can break down what their needs are and establish common ground on who is needed for what separately, and which issues require both their expertise.
