Edward Smith
Looking back on 30 years of clinical engineering experience
August 07, 2024
by Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief
When Edward Smith was getting start in health technology management three decades ago, he was involved in maintaining the X-ray film processor. A lot has changed since those early days, but the fundamental task of keeping medical equipment operating efficiently to support the best possible patient outcomes has always been the prime objective.
Today, Smith is the manager of clinical engineering at Parkland Health and Hospital System, in Dallas, Texas. HealthCare Business News spoke to him about the ways the industry has evolved, how his relationships with manufacturers have changed, and what advice he has for the next generation of HTM professionals entering the workforce.
HCB News: When you think back to the early days of your career, what are some of the biggest differences compared to now?
Edward Smith: When I first entered this field over 30 years ago we had vendors that would provide free service on imaging devices when equipment, film, and film processing chemicals were purchased. OEMs would provide free technical support, and equipment did not require service keys. Some OEMs would provide free training.
HCB News: How has your role evolved since you first got started in HTM? Have you worked for different hospitals?
ES: I started my career as film processor maintenance engineer and progressed to service higher end equipment such as MR. I have since been trained and worked on diagnostic X-ray, dental systems, mammography systems, CT, and MR devices. I have been employed by Parkland Health for 21 years and have been a manager for 17 years. As an engineer I have been employed by one hospital, but have been a designated engineer for two separate hospitals
HCB News: At Parkland, are you seeing the convergence of IT and clinical engineering? What has this meant for you and your team?
ES: Yes, we have to work closely with both our IT department and PACS team. As a department we realized about 18 years ago that our team would need to have training on the network side to reduce downtime. Our department purchased network analyzers, and took networking classes to have a better understanding of the workflow. As more digital equipment was purchased our team had to grow our skills to be qualified to support these devices. This has also created some struggles as we depend on both of those teams to troubleshoot both network, and PACS issues.
The one drawback from this advancement is that the clinical engineering team is the first responder when devices cannot transfer images, and we have to prove that the device is working properly. At times this is a slow process and can delay patient care.
HCB News: How involved are you in capital equipment purchasing?
ES: At this I am still involved and sign off on capital purchases, but our department has grown and we have added a dedicated clinical engineer who is responsible for all of our demos and submits the required documents for purchasing equipment.
I am also still involved demos and provide feedback on equipment that is being considered.
HCB News: Are you satisfied with the data you are generating for asset management?
ES: We work closely with this team as well, and it has some pros and cons. The database that we use (Service Now) does a great job for inventory purpose, but the RTLS integration has some flaws. So mostly yes, I am satisfied.
HCB News: Generally speaking, how is your relationship with the OEMs? Are you able to obtain service training and manuals when you need them?
ES: I have a fairly good relationship with our OEMS service managers, but this a moving target with constant turnover with the OEM management. Getting service manuals can be challenging at times, if we have not had an engineer trained. Service training is not an issue.
HCB News: What advice do you give to newer clinical engineers who are just getting started?
ES: I would say they need to be ready for all of the new technology that they will experience over their career. Getting as much IT experience as possible would be very beneficial, as at some point all imaging and biomed devices will most likely touch the network in some capacity.
Today, Smith is the manager of clinical engineering at Parkland Health and Hospital System, in Dallas, Texas. HealthCare Business News spoke to him about the ways the industry has evolved, how his relationships with manufacturers have changed, and what advice he has for the next generation of HTM professionals entering the workforce.
HCB News: When you think back to the early days of your career, what are some of the biggest differences compared to now?
Edward Smith: When I first entered this field over 30 years ago we had vendors that would provide free service on imaging devices when equipment, film, and film processing chemicals were purchased. OEMs would provide free technical support, and equipment did not require service keys. Some OEMs would provide free training.
HCB News: How has your role evolved since you first got started in HTM? Have you worked for different hospitals?
ES: I started my career as film processor maintenance engineer and progressed to service higher end equipment such as MR. I have since been trained and worked on diagnostic X-ray, dental systems, mammography systems, CT, and MR devices. I have been employed by Parkland Health for 21 years and have been a manager for 17 years. As an engineer I have been employed by one hospital, but have been a designated engineer for two separate hospitals
HCB News: At Parkland, are you seeing the convergence of IT and clinical engineering? What has this meant for you and your team?
ES: Yes, we have to work closely with both our IT department and PACS team. As a department we realized about 18 years ago that our team would need to have training on the network side to reduce downtime. Our department purchased network analyzers, and took networking classes to have a better understanding of the workflow. As more digital equipment was purchased our team had to grow our skills to be qualified to support these devices. This has also created some struggles as we depend on both of those teams to troubleshoot both network, and PACS issues.
The one drawback from this advancement is that the clinical engineering team is the first responder when devices cannot transfer images, and we have to prove that the device is working properly. At times this is a slow process and can delay patient care.
HCB News: How involved are you in capital equipment purchasing?
ES: At this I am still involved and sign off on capital purchases, but our department has grown and we have added a dedicated clinical engineer who is responsible for all of our demos and submits the required documents for purchasing equipment.
I am also still involved demos and provide feedback on equipment that is being considered.
HCB News: Are you satisfied with the data you are generating for asset management?
ES: We work closely with this team as well, and it has some pros and cons. The database that we use (Service Now) does a great job for inventory purpose, but the RTLS integration has some flaws. So mostly yes, I am satisfied.
HCB News: Generally speaking, how is your relationship with the OEMs? Are you able to obtain service training and manuals when you need them?
ES: I have a fairly good relationship with our OEMS service managers, but this a moving target with constant turnover with the OEM management. Getting service manuals can be challenging at times, if we have not had an engineer trained. Service training is not an issue.
HCB News: What advice do you give to newer clinical engineers who are just getting started?
ES: I would say they need to be ready for all of the new technology that they will experience over their career. Getting as much IT experience as possible would be very beneficial, as at some point all imaging and biomed devices will most likely touch the network in some capacity.