by
John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter | May 26, 2019
For instance, some HTM departments report to the CIO in a process that is somewhat streamlined. Others must use different approaches to ensure two-way communication with IT, like SSM Health in St. Louis, where the HTM department reports up through the COO.
Heidi Horn, vice president of HTM at SSM Health, is a member of the health system’s IT Executive Committee, which ensures HTM is aware of all large IT initiatives and can provide feedback. HTM managers there also sit on special IT teams – such as Change Management, Application Approval and Technical Risk Assessment – strengthening collaboration and awareness between the two groups.
“In recent years, we created a Medical Device Security Analyst position that reports to HTM but meets regularly with the IT Security team,” recalled Horn. “We participate in IT's annual risk assessment and adopt IT's security policies that impact medical devices.”
SSM Health also has a whole team of people responsible for clinical device project planning, device integration and clinical systems management. According to Horn, this team serves as a “bridge” between IT and HTM. The two groups also share the same call center, and their CMMS is on the same ServiceNow instance, which means they can transfer tickets/work orders when needed.
Deciding who is responsible for which problems depends on
the nature of the issue. If it's an error with the device, it's
an HTM problem. If it's an issue within the larger system
which the device is integrated in, it falls on IT to fix it.
In some hospitals, biomedical engineers and HTMs are divided into various teams and have varying skills, which, according to Busdicker, can increase the challenges of good communication. At the same time, IT processes like change management and risk assessment may seem cumbersome or time-consuming to HTM departments focused on repair and maintaining equipment.
“As technology has advanced over the years and assumed a greater IT component, that’s required us to step outside of that mindset and integrate more with one another, especially when it comes to rising issues like cybersecurity,” he said. “That includes the networking piece, the security piece, ensuring patch management and upgrades, and encryptions. They require us more to work hand-in-hand with one another.”
