I know I say this every December, but I can’t believe another year has come and gone. (Weren’t we all—collectively and with bated breath—counting down the minutes until 2021 when we could finally bid adieu to The Year That Shall Not Be Named?) Either way, we’re on the brink of 2022 and almost two years into a pandemic that has upended our lives.
But are the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, par- ticularly as they relate to healthcare technology management, here to stay? It’s a question 24×7 posed to the four panelists on this year’s HTM Expert Panel. I encourage you to read the roundtable for yourself, but the responses ranged from a shift to telemedicine—which, respondents say, may not reverse—to changing attitudes regarding using non-OEM replacement parts. Supply chain issues, panelist Paul Kelley wrote, directly led to the latter—and, he says, “this trend may be here to stay.”
The COVID-19 pandemic—and the resultant pressures on HTM teams—also cast the biomed profession into the spotlight, according to Binseng Wang, who took part in the roundtable. “The pandemic made healthcare delivery organization (HDO) leaders more aware of the critical nature of CE/HTM for the HDO’s mission of patient care,” Dr. Wang wrote. “This will help us to get more attention and support for our operations.”
It’s certainly a positive development. But will it last? Dr. Wang is leery. “Like most disasters, it’s unfortunate that, with time, such awareness may wane, and we will again need to remind those leaders of the essential nature of our services,” he concedes.
At 24×7, we are committed to doing just that—and regularly endorse the HTM profession through our in-depth feature articles, columns by top thought leaders, and exclusive webinars. But, in my opinion, one of our greatest contributions to the HTM field is our annual compensation and job satisfaction survey.
Throughout the years, readers have told me that they don’t ask for a raise until they’ve seen our survey results. And, if there is any pay discrepancy between their job title and geographic region, they hand over our salary charts to their administrators.
As the editor of 24×7, I feel personally responsible for ensuring that our salary data is as accurate as possible. Which is why I need you—those in the trenches of the HTM field—to complete our 2021 survey and share your salaries and insights. (If you haven’t already, please take the survey now here.) Doing so will ensure that the HTM field gets the kudos it deserves—pandemic or not.
Keri Forsythe-Stephens is chief editor of 24×7. Questions and comments can be directed to [email protected]
