AAMI/FDA Ventilator Summit Shines Light On Common Terminology, Training
Creating a culture of safety, having a common ventilator taxonomy, and ensuring competency training for healthcare professionals are three areas that need to be addressed to improve the treatment of patients, according to participants at an AAMI/FDA summit.
Attendees, who included clinicians, regulators, healthcare technology professionals, and industry executives, discussed these and other issues during the two-day ventilator technology summit, held Sept. 16-17 in Herndon, Va.
The summit began with a call for the creation of a culture of safety — a theme echoed by several speakers.
“Healthy work environments don’t just happen,” said Connie Barden, chief clinical officer with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. “The onus is on us as leaders to promote a culture of safety.”
Barden said communication is key to ensuring patient safety. She cited statistics from The Joint Commission showing that 65 percent of all sentinel events are caused by communication issues.
“We’ve got to bust up the hierarchies and traditions in healthcare,” she said, adding that having a happier healthcare workforce leads to better patient care. She cited a study in the Journal of Nursing Administration that found that patients who are cared for in “better” working environments had a lower chance of dying.
The audience agreed that enhanced communications are needed. Several suggested an information exchange between organizations to share not only evidence and best practices, but also near misses to help others avoid similar incidents.
Participants emphasized the need for consistent terminology. This inconsistency results in compromised patient safety, a lack of comparative effectiveness data, and confusion over how to order and use various pieces of equipment.
The potential for further confusion is compounded when pieces of equipment are labeled “ventilator,” when they are something else, such as a resuscitator, said Dario Rodriquez, health services and public health research manager at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine.
“Nomenclature can get in the way of giving the appropriate level of care,” he added.
He also pointed out that clinicians may not have adequate exposure to ventilators, so having standardized terminology would help them.
Training also was a recurring theme throughout the summit. Scott Colburn, director of the standards program at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), pointed out that healthcare professionals face a difficult situation with the sheer number of ventilator types.
“I could be trained on this one ventilator, and turn to another and not know how to use it,” he said.
The audience discussed what culture changes are needed to shift to a better training model. Suggestions included having a standard certification process of training, changing to a risk-based model, and making it acceptable for ahealthcare professional to say he or she doesn’t know how to use a piece of equipment.
AAMI Introduces Free Healthcare Technology Podcasts
AAMI has launched a series of free podcasts that will feature lively and informative interviews with leaders and experts in healthcare technology.
Produced by Healthcare Tech Talk, the series already has featured an interview with AAMI President Mary Logan, who discussed the benefits of this resource for members and those interested in the safe and effective delivery of care.
“We have great publications; we have great educational sessions; and we have great content,” said Logan. “However, people are different in terms of how they want to receive information. We really didn’t feel as if we were maximizing all of the opportunities that we have to disseminate content on subjects people are passionate about. These podcasts are yet another way to help our audience learn more about pressing healthcare technology safety issues that have a direct impact on them.”
She also discussed the dangers of tubing misconnections and The Joint Commission’s Sentinel Event Alert highlighting the changes coming to the design of small-bore connectors. This important safety topic will be the topic of a future AAMI podcast.
The second podcast examined the topic of the joint AAMI and U.S. Food and Drug Administration summit: ventilator technology.
AAMI’s partner in the podcast series is Healthcare Tech Talk, a show hosted by healthcare veterans Terry Baker and Kelley Hill. The podcasts reflect a commitment by AAMI to offer its members and others in the healthcare technology community new and creative ways to stay engaged and informed about trends and topics that affect their jobs and professional interests.
All AAMI podcasts will be available on a new page on the AAMI website. Additionally, the podcasts can be accessed through three major podcast distributors: iTunes, TuneIn, and Stitcher.
Updated Guide Provides Answers To Water Quality Questions
Water is a critical component in the various stages of medical device reprocessing. How can those in charge of reprocessing devices ensure they are using water of the proper quality?
A revised technical information report (TIR) from AAMI can help.TIR34:2014, “Water for the Reprocessing of Medical Devices,” addresses water treatment equipment, water distribution and storage, quality control procedures for monitoring quality, strategies for bacterial control, and environmental and personnel considerations.
Intended for personnel who reprocess medical devices and those who maintain the water treatment system, the document is an update to a 2007 version.
“The biggest change in this document is that we now have two categories of water: critical and utility,” said Emily Mitzel, laboratory manager at Nelson Labs and co-chair of AAMI’s Water Quality for Medical Device Reprocessing Working Group, which developed the TIR. “The definitions of these and how they are utilized are explained very well in the document.”
Because TIR34 has two audiences, it includes information for each group in separate sections. While the main text covers information for personnel involved in medical device reprocessing, annexes provide technical information for water maintenance personnel. Annex A includes questions users should ask when selecting a water treatment section. It also names the steps needed in a validation plan.
“Another notable addition to the TIR is the informative annex that addresses poor water quality and the impact on medical device reprocessing with pictorial examples, along with recommendations for investigation and correction,” added Jackie Daley, director of Infection Prevention and Control at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Md., and co-chair of the working group. “An extensive reference list is provided for further reading. Therefore, if water quality is important to you, then this TIR is a must-have reference.”
The revised TIR will be included in the updated “Sterilization Part 1: Sterilization in Health Care Facilities.”