It’s also important to remember that HTM and IT should be consulted by the greater hospital enterprise concerning purchasing decisions being made by executives and clinicians.
"If IT and HTM professionals aren't at the table when decisions are being made about acquiring new equipment, sometimes the intermediary devices that are needed in order for data to flow between systems are left out of the purchase," said Danielle McGeary, vice president of healthcare technology management at AAMI. "While you can go back and buy them later, this miss delays the installation process and often was not budgeted for.”
It is also common that when new equipment shows up on site, providers want it set up and installed immediately, according to McGeary. This puts HTM and IT in a difficult position since they are faced with telling the provider that their new equipment can't be hooked up immediately because they don't have all the pieces.
Surpassing these challenges requires HTMs, IT and providers to teach one another about their individual work processes and roles, as well as educate staff on how to address different scenarios to avoid hindering patient care.
Good collaboration leads to more capable individual teams Like anything else, working efficiently on medical equipment requires a strong awareness of who does what – and good manners go a long way.
"Knowing these people personally helps speed up troubleshooting, because when you've established a personal relationship with someone and have engaged them throughout a project, they are more likely to help you faster,” said McGeary. “You're not at the bottom of their to-do list."
Being courteous and showing gratitude for taking up someone’s time after working with them is an easy way to do this. McGeary also recommends asking for a seat at routine meetings, if only as an opportunity to get a better idea of how the partnering department operates and who is in charge of what.
“In some organizations, HTMs report to the chief information officers. Collaborations like this tend to be a more natural occurrence due to having a single directive for both parties," said Nelson. "In others, HTMs can report to a variety of positions, including facilities and maintenance directors, vice presidents, or chief executive officers. In these situations, those heading the project may not have a strong technical background, and we can do our best to help them understand how we can achieve the best possible outcome by coordinating our activities.”
