From the May 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


HCB News: How have your members’ roles evolved over the past five years and how do you see them changing over the next five?
RJ: We have a diverse membership so that evolution has varied. In general, all of our members are facing a more complex, interconnected world. For health care technology management professionals, that fact means they have to keep learning to thrive. A greater understanding of information technology and cybersecurity, for example, seems crucial, as does the development of communication soft skills so that they can better interact with other departments. Sterile processing professionals face challenges as devices themselves grow more complex, affecting the instructions to follow and, more importantly, the ability to effectively clean devices without investing in new practices and technologies. The manufacturers of medical devices face a changing world in which more and more health care technology is moving outside hospital walls and into homes. That ultimately impacts how devices are designed.

Finally, the regulatory world is changing, and those changes may accelerate as the new presidential administration moves forward with its policies. Changes in regulations can serve to underscore the valuable role that consensus standards play in safe and effective health care technology, and AAMI is the leader on that front.
To circle back to HTM professionals, I would just emphasize that the one constant for them is change. They need to be able to adapt quickly to that environment, and AAMI is here to help.

HCB News: What initiatives are currently topping AAMI’s list?
RJ: We’ve entered our third year of a three-year strategy. Between now and November, senior management, leadership and our board will be developing our list of priorities for the next three years. We will be keeping things that have worked well for years and continue to work well. If we find items that are no longer relevant, we’re discarding them and refocusing efforts in other areas.

The strategy will be informed by what we’ve learned with our member survey. We saw five primary reasons for why our members join: 1) stay up to date on industry news; 2) be part of and interact with a diverse community of health care technology professionals; 3) learn new technical skills and build upon existing knowledge; 4) participate in the development of standards for medical devices and technology; and 5) advance their careers through improved leadership and technical skills and certification.

May 2017 Magazine

Read more stories from the May 2017 issue

More Exclusive Q&A

AAMI Homepage