This week’s blog is the sequel or “Part II” if you will on a topic that is as volatile as the summer storms that are sweeping the Midwestern belt of the country! Yes, instability in the air and the mercury rising is really beginning to heat up and so is the temperament of the HTM community! Email’s, issued statements and “hoopla” in general is resonating throughout the industry regarding the comments made by an accrediting agency representative most recently at this year’s AAMI conference about the “moratorium” use of Relocatable Power Taps (RPT’s) in patient care areas.
The back of the neck “hair raising” feeling that many a healthcare institution may be experiencing should not come as a surprise. The reason is simple – they have ignored the obvious. Read and understand the requirements around the use in patient care areas of RPT’s, power strips or whatever vernacular one may lean to when describing these devices. Short falls in the lack of medical equipment planning and siting to meet the work flow within the patient care environment have long been an Achilles heel to this “power source” dilemma. Oh ya, hospital’s not wanting to spend the money in putting in appropriate power outlets has also been a contributor.
One recent press release statement (published 06.13.14) that has circulated is from the ECRI Institute. The statement speaks around the CMS restrictions of RPT’s and the comments that came out the June ’14 AAMI conference. The statement does have a recommendation saying any decision regarding the use of RPT’s should be delayed. What does this exactly mean? Is ECRI and accrediting agency?
We have heard comments and statements from one accrediting agency and now an industry leading safety resource. What are the other accrediting agencies saying as to the practices that should be followed with regards to use of RPT’s in patient care areas? A great opportunity to ask this question directly to both The Joint Commission (TJC) and Det Norske Veritas (DNV) will come this August in Chicago at the Clinical Engineering Association of Illinois (www.ceaiweb.org) annual conference. Both accrediting agencies will have presenters at the conference speaking on current healthcare environment updates and processes. Let’s see if the mud can be cleared off the windshield and clear direction given as we ride down the RPT highway.
