HTM Professionals, Industry Find Common Ground During Supportability Forum

More than 30 stakeholders representing HTM, industry, regulatory bodies, academic institutions and others attended the AAMI Forum on Supportability of Healthcare Technology. Photo courtesy of AAMI 

Healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals and device manufacturers created a roadmap for solving issues of supportability during the AAMI Forum on Supportability of Healthcare Technology, held Nov. 2-3, 2015. More than 30 stakeholders representing HTM, industry, regulatory bodies, academic institutions, and others attended the interactive meeting, presenting their supportability concerns and working toward a framework for developing solutions.  More than 30 stakeholders representing HTM, industry, regulatory bodies, academic institutions, and others attended the interactive meeting, presenting their supportability concerns and working toward a framework for developing solutions.

"We’ve never held an event like this before,” says Patrick Bernat, AAMI’s director of HTM. “For so long, supportability issues have been the elephant in the room between the HTM community and manufacturers. The fact that this many people committed to being here is tremendous.”

During the first half of the forum, the group divided along professional lines to identify the most pressing issues they wanted to address during the meeting. HTM professionals singled out training, medical device design, and the availability of service resources, while manufacturers listed clearly defined responsibilities and minimum competency verification.

While views of the issues differed, everyone in the room agreed that patient safety was the driving force for finding solutions.

“Probably the biggest impact of holding a meeting like this is having people talk face to face. And based on the discussions, there are probably more areas of agreement than most people thought there could be,” Bernat says.

All of the information and ideas collected during the forum will be compiled into a report that will be released before the end of the year. This report will serve as a roadmap for all stakeholders and will guide future supportability initiatives.

Source: AAMI