Last week, I attended the annual meeting of the International Association of Medical Equipment Remarketers and Servicers (IAMERS) in Washington, DC.
It was a great meeting and I was alert throughout the entire event. Sometimes, when you attend these meetings just for the sake of networking, you want to fall asleep during the lectures — but not so this time.
Some of the high points included:
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1. Sean Cavanaugh, the director of CMS, gave us a review of the present but also some predictions about the future. It was extremely interesting.
2. Derek Guest, the executive director of the Remanufacturing Industries Council, talked about protocols his organization had developed so the definition of "remanufacturing" is the same everywhere. Because of the FDA it does not fit perfectly, but I think we all learned a lot.
3. Congressman Ron Kind, Democrat from Wisconsin, spoke to us at lunch. Normally, I would run from the room rather than listen to a politician but this guy was great. He tailored his talk to our industry and was amazingly conversant on any topic that anyone asked him about. Very impressive.
4. Michael Mabry, the executive director of the Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA), spoke about the challenges that radiology managers face and what his organization is doing to help them. It was also an extremely interesting talk.
5. Daniel Vukelich, the executive director of the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors, talked about the evolution of reprocessing in the U.S. and in Europe and the positive impact surrounding reprocessing. It is green, it saves money and many would feel it is just logical.
6. And no IAMERS meeting would be complete without Wayne Webster and his mixture of humor and cynicism. This year, Wayne discussed the challenges of XR-29 and left me feeling like it may not be as big of a deal as we thought it was.
7. Josh Block started out the morning talking about what important things we should all keep in mind to be successful business people and humans.
Sadly, I missed Linda Comisar because I had to be back in New York on Friday, but having spoken with her at the Thursday dinner, I am sure she gave an invigorating presentation.
This year was a great event and I am glad I was able to attend.
My compliments to Diana Upton for putting together a great meeting.
Phil is a member of AHRA, HFMA, AAMI and the Cryogenic Society of America. He has contributed to a number of magazines and journals and has addressed trade groups.
Phil's proudest achievement is that he has been happily married to his wife Barbara since 1989, who helped him found DOTmed in 1998.
