November 2, 2006
A new e-Community—created by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation’s (AAMI) Technology Management Council (TMC)—enables medical technology professionals to interact with each other on Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) issues and obtain important JCAHO-related guidance documents.
Created as part of a continuing effort by AAMI’s TMC to provide new resources to biomedical equipment technicians, clinical engineers, and other medical technology professionals, the “e-Community” is a new benefit available to all AAMI members. Members will have the option of receiving e-mail messages as soon as they are posted—daily, weekly, or not at all.
The JCAHO e-Community includes three sections, including news, which will include breaking news from AAMI publications and JCAHO; online forums, where AAMI members can post questions on a variety of issues ranging from medical equipment planning and surveys to hazard alerts and maintenance strategies; and a document library, where AAMI members can access archived articles. This area already includes 54 articles on topics ranging from clinical alarms and sentinel events to preventive maintenance inspections and standards.
Matthew Baretich, PhD, president of Baretich Engineering Inc will moderate the new JCAHO e-Community and sees limitless potential in the project. “As health care technology professionals discover the community, I expect it to really take off,” Baretich said. “The initial response to the concept has been phenomenal.”
AAMI members can access the JCAHO e-Community online.
