Breaking out of the biomed box: an audit assessment and recommendations for an in-house biomedical engineering program.
Publication/Presentation Date
1-1-2003
Abstract
In order to assess the current performance and to identify future growth opportunities of an in-house biomedical engineering (BME) program, senior management of Lehigh Valley Hospital (Allentown, Penn) engaged (in July 2001) the services of a clinical engineering consultant. Although the current in-house program was both functionally and financially sound, an independent audit had not been performed in over 4 years, and there were growing concerns by the BME staff related to the department's future leadership and long-term support from senior management. After an initial 2-month audit of the existing program, the consultant presented 41 separate recommendations for management's consideration. In order to refine and implement these recommendations, 5 separate committees were established to further evaluate a consolidated version of them, with the consultant acting as the facilitator for each group. Outcomes from each of the committees were used in the development of a formal business plan, which, upon full implementation, would not only strengthen and refine the current in-house service model but could also result in a substantial 3-year cost savings for the organization ($1,100,000 from existing operations, $500,000 in cost avoidance by in-sourcing postwarranty support of future capital equipment acquisitions). Another key outcome of the project was related to the development of a new master policy, titled the "Medical Equipment Management Program," complete with a newly defined state-of-the-art equipment scheduled inspection frequency model.
Volume
37
Issue
5
First Page
329
Last Page
337
ISSN
0899-8205
Published In/Presented At
Dickey, D. M., Jagiela, S., & Fetters, D. (2003). Breaking out of the biomed box: an audit assessment and recommendations for an in-house biomedical engineering program. Biomedical instrumentation & technology, 37(5), 329–337. https://doi.org/10.2345/0899-8205(2003)37[329:BOOTBB]2.0.CO;2
Disciplines
Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
PubMedID
14564804
Department(s)
Administration and Leadership
Document Type
Article