ISHE is Offering CEUs for Attendance at the Spring Conference
ISHE State Conference - May 11-12, 2012
The American Society for Healthcare Engineering of the American Hospital Association awards the ISHE 2012 Spring Conference 7.5 Contact Hours and .75 CEUs. Attendees will receive a certificate after the conference.
ASHE Awards ISHE with Gold Level for 2011
ASHE is pleased to announce that the Indiana Society for Healthcare Engineering Chapter has obtained Gold Level of Affiliation for 2011.
Affiliation is a means by which to work toward a common mission. ASHE has established guidelines and expectations that ensure affiliation is beneficial to both parties. This affiliation agreement requires ASHE and the chapters to work together in fulfilling the affiliation level the chapter chooses. The overall objectives of this agreement are as follows:
• Provide valuable links between health care professionals in close geographic proximity or with similar interests.
• Improve communications and cooperation between members to enhance membership and give members opportunities to provide input and develop professionally.
• Provide a unified voice on issues that affect the profession relating to codes, standards, regulations, and other advocacy issues.
ASHE Advocacy Alert
ASHE Needs Your Input on CMS Preventive Maintenance Change
May 7, 2012
As ASHE has previously reported, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revised its rules on preventive maintenance schedules for medical equipment in December. The change requires hospitals to comply with manufacturers' recommended schedules for preventive maintenance on certain pieces of equipment—even though manufacturer recommendations are not necessarily based on scientific data and many hospitals have developed their own schedules based on data. Now ASHE is asking its members for input on this developing issue in the form of two surveys developed by the Joint Commission. ASHE is also hosting a free webinar on preventive maintenance featuring Joint Commission Department of Engineering Director George Mills, FASHE, CHFM, CEM, CHSP.
After CMS issued a memo on preventive maintenance in December, ASHE released an issue brief on the issue. Since then, ASHE has been working with the Joint Commission, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), and other interested parties to respond to the memo.
The CMS directive differs from the Joint Commission process for preventive maintenance. The Joint Commission process is risk based and allows for flexibility in maintenance frequencies based on risk level, hospital experience, or manufacturers' recommendations. Many in the health care technology field were disappointed when CMS issued the maintenance memo, arguing that strictly adhering to manufacturers' recommendations would be costly and time consuming without improving patient safety.
Mills met with CMS in April and said the agency raised questions related to maintenance activities and device reliability. Mills believes that gathering data on the preventive maintenance memo is important as the Joint Commission, ASHE, and other interested parties create a response to CMS. Mills has created two anonymous surveys—one on clinical equipment and another on facilities equipment—and ASHE professional active members with responsibility for clinical or facility equipment should take the appropriate survey. Those responsible for both clinical and facilities equipment should take both surveys. Those not accredited by the Joint Commission can also respond to the surveys if they have experience with the Joint Commission process, but should identify themselves as not accredited by the Joint Commission in question seven.
Clinical equipment survey
Facility equipment survey
ASHE is hosting a 30-minute webinar that is free for ASHE members. The webinar will be held on May 18 at 12:30 p.m. Central Time and will feature Mills, who will further explain the issue and the need for data and answer questions. Registration is required.
Webinar Registration
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