CME Insider's Blog Posts

Independence comes in many forms.

For many it is the freedom to “age in place” at home or go about daily activities without assistance following an illness, accident, or surgery.

Physical therapy and rehabilitation often begin in the acute care environment but continue after a patient is discharged. It is not surprising then that rehabilitation centers are popping up everywhere to help aging baby boomers and those with medical conditions maintain their independence.

With the outpatient rehabilitation center market projected to experience a compound annual growth rate of 6% ¹ between 2022 and 2027, it is important to consider exactly what equipment is needed to prepare a rehabilitation center for positive patient outcomes.

Biomedical departments in large healthcare systems play a vital role in the:

• Inspection of new equipment, pre-acceptance checks, asset-tagging, and training
• Maintenance of all equipment and monitoring service contracts
• Managing required monthly preventive maintenance schedules for equipment
• Maintaining an inventory of new and existing equipment
• Capital budgeting, equipment evaluation, purchasing equipment, and analyzing the total cost of ownership
• Monitoring equipment recall notifications, maintaining regulatory compliance, and reporting to safety committees.

Today healthcare systems are challenged by an aging population and staffing shortages. Biomed departments are no exception and are also being stretched to the limit. CME Corp's Biomedical Technicians are available to supplement biomedical departments in healthcare systems and facilities across the United States.

These days it is hard to imagine a time when

• buildings had doorways that were too narrow for wheelchairs;
• parking lots did not have designated spaces close to an entrance for Americans with mobility challenges; and
• signs forbidding service animals were posted in public buildings.

Through standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) all public buildings and businesses must be accessible to everyone. Today website accessibility for hearing and sight impairment as well as disabilities that affect the ability to grasp and use a mouse are hot topics.

But accessibility is about more than buildings and web browsing. It is also about ensuring medical equipment is not a barrier to comprehensive and accurate healthcare for people with mobility challenges.

For example, how thoroughly can a healthcare provider examine a patient in a wheelchair versus examining that same patient on an exam table?

In mythology, a Greek sphinx posed this riddle “What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet in midday, and three feet in the evening?”

The answer is humans.  We crawl on all fours in the morning of life, walk on two feet in the midday of life, and may use a cane for extra support in old age.”

What beautiful imagery of age diversity.

For healthcare providers with finite budgets and exam room space the question of how to accommodate age diversity without compromising patient experience is a conundrum. Can one box exam table actually be used for all age groups?

The answer of course is, yes, with the Versa Exam Table by Brewer.

These days understanding why a patient is satisfied (or dissatisfied) is key to creating positive future experiences.

Experience encompasses more than the overall perception of care that is often based on preconceived ideas. The ease of making an appointment and interacting with medical personnel, the environment of the medical facility, understanding of treatment plans, post visit or procedure instructions, and financial arrangements all contribute to a patient’s experience.

And let’s not underestimate the impact the little things like the comfort of medical devices and equipment can have on a patient’s experience.

Caregivers grumble about equipment that has stopped working… again. Accountants are concerned about spending. Headlines scream that landfills are full.

Should you replace medical equipment or repair it?

For many healthcare facilities the knee jerk response is to repair. Unfortunately, in the long run, this can be costly on multiple levels, including public perception.

Not to mention that over time manufacturers make business decisions to stop producing replacement parts for older products they would like to phase out completely.

Replace or repair? It’s a conundrum.

How do You Decide?

First, consider these two questions:

Together Everyone Achieves More

Sometimes it feels like “teamwork” has been a buzz word forever. Teamwork related motivational quotes grace the walls of businesses, schools, and even healthcare facilities. Whether you embrace teamwork or are fed up with all the hype, the reality is that a cohesive group of people, with each member contributing to a specific task can, and does, accomplish amazing things.

Take an operating room team for example. For routine surgery there are between 6 and 10 medical personnel scrubbed and performing specific roles. The team includes the Surgeon, Anesthesiologist, Nurse Anesthetist, 2-4 Scrub Techs, Circulating Tech, Nurse(s), and in some cases medical students. Then there are the mind-boggling surgical feats of medical science, the separation of conjoined twins for example, that require a surgical team of more than thirty. These teams of doctors, nurses, and OR staff ensure the best possible outcome for patients by performing their individual roles while, at the same time, working together.

Team CME

Outside operating rooms teamwork is just as vital to medical equipment distributors providing the healthcare industry with access to the capital medical equipment needed to ensure patient satisfaction.

By a show of hands who has had or knows someone who has had a legal medical procedure, performed in recent memory, without sterile instruments, in an unhygienic environment, in the United States.

That’s what we thought.

We’ve come a long way from the days when “a man laid on the operating table of one of our surgical hospitals is more exposed to more chance of death than was the English soldier on the field of Waterloo” (Sir James Young Simpson, Surgeon and Professor of Medicine and Midwifery (1860s)).¹

But we aren’t there yet. 

Despite a $987M and growing market for surface disinfectants, 1 out of every 25 hospitalized patients are affected by a healthcare-associated infection (HAI).

There’s a lot of talk these days about work life balance among Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials. Gen Z has no qualms about leaving jobs that prevent a proper work-life balance and actively looks for red flags during job interviews to determine an employer’s commitment to fostering a work-life balance.¹ It’s a hot topic, with bloggers, journalists, and motivational speakers all offering tips for achieving a good work-life balance.

Why is work-life balance suddenly such a hot topic?