From the August 2018 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

Stay current with healthcare issues, within HTM and beyond
If we’re not knowledgeable about the industry topics and issues of the day, how can we be proactive in bringing solutions to our executive leaders? We need to know not just what the issues are but also understand their impact on the organization. That means being involved both within and outside the HTM community. For example, HTM leadership at Intermountain health is active in AAMI and ACCE, but also in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and the HIMSS healthcare information management society, and their Utah chapters. Activity in such groups brings insights that can help the HTM department have impact on critical issues and help the care organization meet its goals and objectives.

Form mutually productive partnerships with equipment suppliers
No matter how strong our in-house departments, we are not alone. Any strong HTM program is a hybrid of in-house and equipment manufacturer service teams working toward the same goal: high-quality patient care. Ideally the relationship is so close and handoffs so seamless that internal customers can barely tell where the in-house team leaves off and the supplier begins.

Intermountain Healthcare holds an annual one-day retreat where both service staffs share successes, address issues, and discuss ways to improve. The two groups also regularly share best practices for mutual benefit.

The best service providers today are those willing to bring an open mind, align closely with the care organization, and tailor solutions to its needs by developing new custom offerings if need be. That includes stepping beyond modality support to help address care process issues, like optimizing patient flow to eliminate bottlenecks in surgery or the emergency department. The bottom line is to create a win-win for the two service teams – because that, in turn, creates a win for healthcare as a whole and, most important, a win for our patients.


Mike Busdicker and Perry Kirwan were panelists in the session, “Does Your Executive Leadership Team Appreciate HTM Impact?” presented by GE Healthcare at the AAMI2018 Conference & Expo.

About the authors: Mike Busdicker, MBA, CHTM, is system director of clinical engineering support services with Intermountain Healthcare System based in Salt Lake City, UT, overseeing a 115-member team, 96,000 biomedical and laboratory devices, and more than 3,500 imaging devices.

Perry Kirwan, MSE, CCE

Perry Kirwan, MSE, CCE, is vice president of technology management for Banner Health, based in Phoenix, AZ; responsible for assessment, selection, and deployment of medical imaging, non-imaging, and clinical hybrid IT/medical device technologies across 25 hospitals, nine surgery centers, Sun Health Research Institute and Banner Alzheimer's Institute.

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