When it comes to routine medical device maintenance, healthcare IoT security, and everything in between, there’s a stronger dotted line between IT staff and clinical engineers than ever. But one thing is clear-cut: the responsibilities for each are rapidly increasing.
As the quantity, complexity, and visibility of devices and their connectedness evolves, clinical engineers are doing more with less. Many devices are getting smaller and more sophisticated, but have an outsized impact on workloads, training requirements, and the need for organizational change.
The big picture is in the “small” details
New GE HealthCare qualitative research based on interviews with clinical engineering leaders at hospitals across the country reveals one of their greatest challenges is navigating short staffing[1].
Danielle McGeary, VP of Healthcare Technology Management at AAMI, a national association for clinical engineers and other healthcare technology management professionals, notes that many clinical engineering training programs have closed over the last few years[2]. That’s narrowed the pipeline of qualified candidates in a field where one-third of those in the workforce will hit retirement age in less than a decade[3]. Given the speed of on-site and remote medical device innovations being implemented, managed, and maintained by health systems’ shrinking teams, it’s easy to anticipate additional future obstacles.
Many engineers are already feeling the impact of resource strains amidst expanded responsibilities. During our research, one clinical engineer cited resource challenges unrelated to qualified talent, but due to reductions in another department. A team that previously performed routine device maintenance was eliminated, and those responsibilities for thousands of such devices were absorbed by clinical engineering[4]. Increasingly, these professionals are also responsible for device security as some of those tasks transition away solely from the purview of health systems’ IT teams[5].
As the lines continue to blur between who does what, it’s imperative to remember that teams need to be as connected as the devices they’re responsible for. Change management strategies focusing on what unites them—like maintaining patient safety, organizational resilience, and the need for more than check-a-box training—will ultimately lead to progress.
The ongoing move from reactive to proactive medical equipment lifecycle strategies
So what’s the solution to all of these new or improved solutions? A medical equipment lifecycle management approach that enables clinical engineers to shift from reactive break-and-fix to proactive device management strategies[6]. This approach should include planned and correct maintenance, as well as proper disposal at end of life stages. Extending a product’s lifecycle can yield cost and resource savings[7], minimize service disruptions, and ensure a better user experience.
Our research and time spent interviewing clinical engineers also surfaced insights around what they think would most benefit them day-to-day and long-term:
- More vendor training that is workplace- and workflow-specific—and includes detailed troubleshooting guidance.
- A wider variety of enrichment opportunities, including hands-on in-person training, off-site tutorials with original equipment manufacturers, and virtual, on-demand courses[8].
An investment in training around medical device security, healthcare cloud security, and calibrations and configurations doesn’t only benefit the efficacy and uptime of your tools and technology—it’s an investment in the longevity and satisfaction of your clinical engineering workforce.
Depending on the size and scale of a healthcare organization, some of these approaches may be easier said than done. Building in additional support through a services agreement can supplement in-house clinical engineering staff with parts, people, and productivity measures. One individual interviewed shared his organization’s strategy: “We have a good mixture of devices that we service in-house, and there are quite a bit of devices that are just honestly too complicated that we can't service … We have a dedicated team that handles those service contracts”[9].
Service agreements evolve from informative to insightful
The increasing complexity of devices and an overlap with some responsibilities formerly under IT teams has led the majority of clinical engineers—like those in a 2022 job satisfaction and compensation survey—to report that their workloads are either excessive or heavy[10]. Traditional methods of routine medical device maintenance are no longer efficient on technical or professional development levels.
But what will work? Partners that offer customized, flexible services plans. Today, it’s essential that clinical engineering staff benefit from approaches similar to virtual medical training and remote specialized surgeries more broadly undertaken by clinicians during the pandemic [11,12]. New interactive virtual support for clinical engineers goes a step further, with an augmented reality interface that can connect remote technical engineers with clinical engineers. These remote individuals can then help diagnose and troubleshoot in real time.
Enhancing asset location capabilities in real time across multiple vendors, also helps clinical engineering teams spend less time searching for equipment that increasingly spans multiple environments outside of traditional care settings.
As healthcare continues to rapidly evolve—and along with it the roles and responsibilities of clinical engineering teams—hospitals and health systems should consider new approaches, like those outlined above, to fully support their teams and ensure optimal patient care.
We at GE HealthCare understand the myriad challenges health system leaders and clinical engineers are facing when it comes to digital transformation. Like technology, strategies need to change to support those who ensure equipment is ready and able to support optimal patient care. GE HealthCare’s comprehensive suite of services is here to help clinical engineering teams keep their fleet optimized and secure, ensuring value for the entire organization throughout the lifecycle of devices. Learn more about GE HealthCare Patient Care Solutions Services.
References
1. Double-blinded research interviews conducted independently by Sage Growth Partners in March and April 2024
2. Shortage of biomed techs could lead to a crisis in patient safety, UpNorthLive/ABC
https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/shortage-of-biomed-techs-could-lead-to-a-crisis-in-patient-safety
3. HTM Salary Survey 2022, 24x7 Magazine
https://24x7mag.com/professional-development/department-management/salaries/htm-salary-survey-2022
4. Double-blinded research interviews conducted independently by Sage Growth Partners in March and April 2024
5. A Growing Threat to Patient Care: 3 Escalating Challenges for Hospital and Health System Clinical Engineers, GE HealthCare https://clinicalview.gehealthcare.com/blog/growing-threat-patient-care-3-escalating-challenges-hospital-and-health-system-clinical
6. 5 Equipment Lifecycle Essentials That Can Impact Patient Care, GE HealthCare
7. ReadySee, GE HealthCare https://www.gehealthcare.com/services/readysee
8. Technical Training, GE HealthCare https://www.gehealthcare.com/education/technical-training
9. Double-blinded research interviews conducted independently by Sage Growth Partners in March and April 2024
10. HTM Salary Survey 2022, 24x7 Magazine
https://24x7mag.com/professional-development/department-management/salaries/htm-salary-survey-2022
11. “Online Teaching Skills During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: One Curve We Do Not Want to Flatten,” National Library of Medicine https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9970327/
12. “The rise of robots in surgical environments during COVID-19,” Nature Journal, https://www.nature.com/articles/s42256-020-00238-2
JB30163XX
Nic Weller
Marketing Director, Services & Clinical Consumables at GE HealthCare
Lindsey Henning
GE HealthCare Senior Director of Monitoring Solutions Lifecycle Services