ECRI Institute Celebrates National Biomedical/Clinical Engineering Week--May 22-28

Offers free white paper with tips on maximizing efficiency of CE departments

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In honor of National Biomedical/Clinical Engineering Appreciation Week, May 22-28, 2011, ECRI Institute®, a nonprofit healthcare organization that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, is providing a free download of its white paper, I'm Going to Ignore Clinical Engineering Until . . . Not in My Hospital!

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110112/DC29081LOGO)

The free report addresses the changing role of the clinical engineer, from equipment "fixer" and "maintainer" to a key professional who adds value broadly across the institution. This evolving role involves collaborating with senior management on areas ranging from capital equipment planning and purchasing, to biomedical device integration planning, risk assessment, and the benchmarking of clinical engineering's performance.

The paper also identifies challenges and provides tips on maximizing efficiencies in a hospital's clinical engineering activities. It outlines best practices for senior management to make the most of their clinical engineering services, including championing and developing staff, demanding accountability via performance metrics, and focusing on long-term solutions.

"Today's challenges—from cost reduction efforts to medical device integration and alarm management—require that clinical engineering departments step up to the plate to provide technical leadership," says Robert Maliff, Director, Applied Solutions Group, ECRI Institute.

ECRI Institute's Applied Solutions team of healthcare consultants provide customized support and evaluation of clinical engineering programs with objective, independent guidance and expertise through its customized Technology Management Reviews. To learn more, visit www.ecri.org/techmanagement  or contact ECRI Institute by mail at 5200 Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-1298, USA; by telephone at (610) 825-6000, ext. 5130; by e-mail at [email protected]; or by fax at (610) 834-1275.

ECRI Institute offers a free bimonthly newsletter, Health Technology e-Source, for the clinical engineering community, with technology management resources, safety alerts, product selection and procurement strategies, and other expert advice. Click here to sign up.

About ECRI Institute

ECRI Institute (www.ecri.org), a nonprofit organization, brings the discipline of applied scientific research to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are best, all to enable health care organizations to improve patient care. As pioneers in this science, they pride themselves in having the unique ability to marry practical experience and uncompromising independence with the thoroughness and objectivity of evidence-based research. ECRI Institute is designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Patient Safety, Risk Management, and Healthcare Technology and an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ECRI Institute PSO, listed as a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, strives to achieve the highest levels of safety and quality in healthcare by collecting and analyzing patient safety information and sharing lessons learned and best practices. Find ECRI Institute on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ECRIInstitute) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/ECRI_Institute).

SOURCE ECRI Institute