Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Vendors
Nurses
Doctors
Allied
Health
Professionals
Hospital
Administration
Cost
and
Third Party
Payors
CLINICAL
ENGINEER
Patient
Economics
Efficacy,
Safety
Leasing
Agencies
Hospital
Environment
Regulation
Agencies
Clinical
Research
Figure 1.0-1 Diagram illustrating the range of interactions in which a clinical engineer might be required to engage in a hospital setting.
Establishment of performance benchmarks for all
equipment
Medical equipment inventory control
Coordination of outside services and vendors
Training of medical personnel in the safe and effective
use of medical devices and systems
Clinical applications engineering, such as custom
modification of medical devices for clinical research
or evaluation of new noninvasive monitoring systems
Biomedical computer support
Input to the design of clinical facilities where medical
technology is used (e.g., operating rooms (ORs) or
intensive-care units).
Development and implementation of documentation
protocols required by external accreditation and
licensing agencies
Clinical engineers thereby provide extensive engineer-
ing services for the clinical staff and, in recent years,
physicians, nurses, and other clinical professionals have
increasingly accepted them as valuable team members.
The acceptance of clinical engineers in the hospital setting
has led to different types of engineering-medicine in-
teractions, which in turn have improved health care de-
livery. Furthermore, clinical engineers serve as a significant
resource for the entire hospital. Since they possess in-
depth knowledge regarding available in-house technological
ensured the establishment of a safer environment, but also
facilitated the use of modern medical technology to make
patient care more efficient and effective.
Today, clinical engineers are an integral part of the
health care delivery team. In fact, their role is multifac-
eted.
Figure 1.0-1
illustrates the multifaceted role played
by clinical engineers. They must successfully interface
with clinical staff, hospital administrators and regulatory
agencies to ensure that the medical equipment within the
hospital is safely and effectively used.
To further illustrate the diversity of their tasks,
some typical pursuits of clinical engineers are provided in
the following:
Supervision of a hospital clinical engineering department
that includes clinical engineers and biomedical
equipment technicians (BMETs)
Pre-purchase evaluation and planning for new medical
technology
Design, modification, or repair of sophisticatedmedical
instruments or systems
Cost-effective management of a medical equipment
calibration and repair service
Safety and performance testing ofmedical equipment
by BMETs
Inspection of all incoming equipment (new and
returning repairs)
