© Copyright AAMI 2015. Single user license only. Copying, networking, and distribution prohibited.
Frontlines
Digging Deeper When I first started to imagine a BI&T issue centered on “big data,” it felt as if I was Alice falling into the rabbit hole and landing in a wonderland that, layer by stripped away layer, seemed curiouser and curiouser. Like Alice, I found myself muttering, “It would be so nice if something made sense for a change!” Lucky for me—and for all of you—we found a few guides to help us in this journey. And they don’t speak in riddles. Big data, a broad term for data so voluminous or complex that it can’t be harnessed by traditional means, has become a buzzphrase in several industries. While some sectors have successfully gathered a wealth of information from their analyses, healthcare seems to be just getting started. Writer Chris Hayhurst digs into the figurative mine to make sense of the big data issue. “That data can be used to find answers is of course nothing new. Researchers, businesses, institutions—entire industries for that matter—have looked to the numbers from whatever niche they’re in for as long as they’ve been able to count,” Hayhurst writes. “What’s different now is the sheer volume of data being produced, and the increasing ease, thanks to steady improvements in a wide array of technologies, in which that data can be collected, organized, analyzed, and put to use.” Maria Cvach, Johns Hopkins’ assistant director of nursing and clinical standards, relates it to alarms. “You can read the literature and learn a lot about ways you can reduce alarms, but unless you have solid numbers— numbers that really tell the story of what’s happening in that specific unit, and even at the bed level in that unit—you can’t possibly know where to begin.” Unlike Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, big data is not a dream that we will wake from. It’s a powerful revolution. Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” The Cheshire Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” n
Vice President of Communications Sean Loughlin
Gregory L. Herr The Christ Hospital Cincinnati, OH
Managing Editor Jena Passut
Larry W. Hertzler, BS, MBA, PE, CCE Aramark Healthcare Charlotte, NC
Editorial Board Chair W. Glenn Scales, CBET Durham, NC Printer Allen Press Publishing Services Advertising Manager Jane Richardson Graphic Designer Kristin Blair Copy Editors Barbara Saxton Joseph Sheffer Editorial Board Pat Baird Baxter Healthcare Corporation Round Lake, IL Matthew F. Baretich, CCE, PhD, PE Baretich Engineering Inc. Fort Collins, CO
74
Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology March/April 2015
Alan Kusinitz SoftwareCPR Boston, MA Alan Lipschultz, CCE Healthcare Technology Consulting LLC North Bethesda, MD Patrick K. Lynch, CBET MBA CCE Global Medical Imaging (GMI) Charlotte, NC Kenneth E. Maddock, BSEET Dallas, TX Royce “Glen” McQuien Crothall Healthcare San Antonio, TX Purna Prasad, PhD, MS, BE, CCE Stanford University Medical Center San Francisco, CA
Damien S. Berg, CRCST University of Colorado Health Denver, CO
Manny Roman, CRES Las Vegas, NV
Michael J. Capuano, CBET, CCE Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation Hamilton, ON, Canada
Rick Schrenker, MS Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Biomedical Engineering Boston, MA
J. Tobey Clark, CCE University of Vermont Technical Service Program Burlington, VT Ted Cohen, MS, CCE University of California Davis Health System Clinical Engineering Department Sacramento, CA Maria Cvach, DNP, RN, FAAN Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, MD Larry Fennigkoh, PhD, PE, CCE Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI Russell Furst Lakeland Regional Health System Biomedical Engineering St. Joseph, MI Izabella Gieras, MS, MBA, CCE Huntington Memorial Hospital Pasadena, CA Alan Gresch Alpha Source Milwaukee, WI
Jena Passut Managing Editor [email protected]
Jeff Kabachinski, MCNE, MS-T Aramark Healthcare Charlotte, NC
Rick Hampton Partners Healthcare System Boston, MA
Ed Snyder Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Philadelphia, PA Dave Stiles, CBET Long Beach Memorial Medical Center Long Beach, CA
Mention of any commercial product, process or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise in BI&T does not constitute or imply an endorsement or recommendation by AAMI. The views and opinions of the authors in BI&T do not state or reflect the opinion of AAMI. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: BI&T, 810 E. 10th Street, P.O. Box 1897, Lawrence, KS 66044-8897. AAMI Members send changes to AAMI; 4301 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 301, Arlington, VA 22203-1633; non-members send changes to Kansas address above.
© Copyright AAMI 2015. Single user license only. Copying, networking, and distribution prohibited.
New Edition!
BMET Study Guide
Preparing for Certification And Sharpening Your Skills The updated and expanded 2012 BMET Study Guide tests your knowledge of six key areas: Anatomy & Physiology Medical Equipment Function & Operation u Safety in Healthcare Facilities u Medical Equipment Problem Solving u Electronics & Electrical Fundamentals u Information systems technology u u
The CD features 574 interactive questions and answers—each with a detailed explanation—and nearly 200 new and revised questions. If you manage healthcare technology, or supervise people who do, this educational tool is for you!
Order code: SGCD List $165 / AAMI member $99
To order call +1-877-249-8226 or visit www.aami.org/publications/books/ bmetcd.html A Special Thanks to the Sponsors of this CD: ARAMARK Healthcare Technologies, CREST Services, and Stephens International Recruiting Inc.
Frontlines
Digging Deeper When I first started to imagine a BI&T issue centered on “big data,” it felt as if I was Alice falling into the rabbit hole and landing in a wonderland that, layer by stripped away layer, seemed curiouser and curiouser. Like Alice, I found myself muttering, “It would be so nice if something made sense for a change!” Lucky for me—and for all of you—we found a few guides to help us in this journey. And they don’t speak in riddles. Big data, a broad term for data so voluminous or complex that it can’t be harnessed by traditional means, has become a buzzphrase in several industries. While some sectors have successfully gathered a wealth of information from their analyses, healthcare seems to be just getting started. Writer Chris Hayhurst digs into the figurative mine to make sense of the big data issue. “That data can be used to find answers is of course nothing new. Researchers, businesses, institutions—entire industries for that matter—have looked to the numbers from whatever niche they’re in for as long as they’ve been able to count,” Hayhurst writes. “What’s different now is the sheer volume of data being produced, and the increasing ease, thanks to steady improvements in a wide array of technologies, in which that data can be collected, organized, analyzed, and put to use.” Maria Cvach, Johns Hopkins’ assistant director of nursing and clinical standards, relates it to alarms. “You can read the literature and learn a lot about ways you can reduce alarms, but unless you have solid numbers— numbers that really tell the story of what’s happening in that specific unit, and even at the bed level in that unit—you can’t possibly know where to begin.” Unlike Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, big data is not a dream that we will wake from. It’s a powerful revolution. Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” The Cheshire Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” n
Vice President of Communications Sean Loughlin
Gregory L. Herr The Christ Hospital Cincinnati, OH
Managing Editor Jena Passut
Larry W. Hertzler, BS, MBA, PE, CCE Aramark Healthcare Charlotte, NC
Editorial Board Chair W. Glenn Scales, CBET Durham, NC Printer Allen Press Publishing Services Advertising Manager Jane Richardson Graphic Designer Kristin Blair Copy Editors Barbara Saxton Joseph Sheffer Editorial Board Pat Baird Baxter Healthcare Corporation Round Lake, IL Matthew F. Baretich, CCE, PhD, PE Baretich Engineering Inc. Fort Collins, CO
74
Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology March/April 2015
Alan Kusinitz SoftwareCPR Boston, MA Alan Lipschultz, CCE Healthcare Technology Consulting LLC North Bethesda, MD Patrick K. Lynch, CBET MBA CCE Global Medical Imaging (GMI) Charlotte, NC Kenneth E. Maddock, BSEET Dallas, TX Royce “Glen” McQuien Crothall Healthcare San Antonio, TX Purna Prasad, PhD, MS, BE, CCE Stanford University Medical Center San Francisco, CA
Damien S. Berg, CRCST University of Colorado Health Denver, CO
Manny Roman, CRES Las Vegas, NV
Michael J. Capuano, CBET, CCE Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation Hamilton, ON, Canada
Rick Schrenker, MS Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Biomedical Engineering Boston, MA
J. Tobey Clark, CCE University of Vermont Technical Service Program Burlington, VT Ted Cohen, MS, CCE University of California Davis Health System Clinical Engineering Department Sacramento, CA Maria Cvach, DNP, RN, FAAN Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, MD Larry Fennigkoh, PhD, PE, CCE Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI Russell Furst Lakeland Regional Health System Biomedical Engineering St. Joseph, MI Izabella Gieras, MS, MBA, CCE Huntington Memorial Hospital Pasadena, CA Alan Gresch Alpha Source Milwaukee, WI
Jena Passut Managing Editor [email protected]
Jeff Kabachinski, MCNE, MS-T Aramark Healthcare Charlotte, NC
Rick Hampton Partners Healthcare System Boston, MA
Ed Snyder Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Philadelphia, PA Dave Stiles, CBET Long Beach Memorial Medical Center Long Beach, CA
Mention of any commercial product, process or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise in BI&T does not constitute or imply an endorsement or recommendation by AAMI. The views and opinions of the authors in BI&T do not state or reflect the opinion of AAMI. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: BI&T, 810 E. 10th Street, P.O. Box 1897, Lawrence, KS 66044-8897. AAMI Members send changes to AAMI; 4301 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 301, Arlington, VA 22203-1633; non-members send changes to Kansas address above.
© Copyright AAMI 2015. Single user license only. Copying, networking, and distribution prohibited.
New Edition!
BMET Study Guide
Preparing for Certification And Sharpening Your Skills The updated and expanded 2012 BMET Study Guide tests your knowledge of six key areas: Anatomy & Physiology Medical Equipment Function & Operation u Safety in Healthcare Facilities u Medical Equipment Problem Solving u Electronics & Electrical Fundamentals u Information systems technology u u
The CD features 574 interactive questions and answers—each with a detailed explanation—and nearly 200 new and revised questions. If you manage healthcare technology, or supervise people who do, this educational tool is for you!
Order code: SGCD List $165 / AAMI member $99
To order call +1-877-249-8226 or visit www.aami.org/publications/books/ bmetcd.html A Special Thanks to the Sponsors of this CD: ARAMARK Healthcare Technologies, CREST Services, and Stephens International Recruiting Inc.
