With the number of patients requiring dialysis growing worldwide, up-to-date guidance for facilities offering this treatment is urgently needed. Recognizing the need for standards and guidance in this area, AAMI plans to release seven publications to help dialysis professionals.
The recently published Dialysis Water and Dialysate Recommendations: A User’s Guide was developed by a member of the AAMI Renal Disease and Detoxification Committee. It is intended as a tool for those who oversee and operate hemodialysis facilities, providing clarification on regulatory requirements and current AAMI guidance. It provides a side-by-side comparison of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations and interpretive guidance for the Condition of Water and Dialysate Quality Rule with the suite of standards that have been adopted by AAMI as replacements for ANSI/AAMI RD52:2004, Dialysate for Hemodialysis.
Later this year, the AAMI Renal Disease and Detoxification Committee plans to publish a new technical information report (TIR) to provide dialysis practitioners with more information related to recommendations made in certain recognized standards. AAMI TIR58, Water Testing Methodologies, will address contaminants in dialysis water, as well as available testing methodologies to meet the requirements of these standards. Although the documents emphasize known toxicities, other contaminants that may interfere with dialysis treatment also are discussed. The TIR will provide information in an accessible chart format to allow for quick reference and help readers understand the reasoning behind the requirements.
Other forthcoming standards include AAMI versions of:
- ISO 11663:2014, Quality of dialysis fluid for hemodialysis and related therapies
- ISO 13958:2014, Concentrates for hemodialysis and related therapies
- ISO 13959:2014, Water for hemodialysis and related therapies
- ISO 23500:2014, Guidance for the preparation and quality management of fluids for hemodialysis and related therapies
- ISO 26722:2014, Water treatment equipment for hemodialysis applications and related therapies
AAMI Journal Optimized for Mobile Devices
Members and subscribers now have mobile access to AAMI’s peer-reviewed journal, BI&T (Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology), and its supplement, Horizons.
The move reflects AAMI’s commitment to expanding members’ options for reading and sharing articles from the association’s award-winning publications.
“We hope the mobile feature will enhance the value of BI&T and Horizons,” said Sean Loughlin, AAMI’s senior director of communications. “Today’s busy professionals no longer restrict their reading to print copies of publications or even to what’s on their desktops. They are on the go, and we intend to be on the go with them. We are determined to meet the needs of our members.”
Published bimonthly, BI&T is a widely respected journal dedicated to the interest of those who develop, maintain, and use healthcare technology. Each issue of BI&T contains case studies, cutting-edge research, interviews with healthcare technology leaders and medical device manufacturers, career advice, and many articles that offer practical tips to clinical engineers, biomedical equipment technicians, and other professionals in the field. Recent cover stories have included a look at the challenges associated with battery-powered medical devices, an in-depth analysis of the promise offered by 3D technology, and a sobering examination of the possible dangers posed by the use of opioids and PCA pumps.
Horizons is published twice a year. Each issue focuses on a specific topic, such as home healthcare technology or medical device alarm systems. The just-released spring issue of Horizons tackles the subject of cybersecurity in healthcare.
For more information about AAMI’s publications, visit www.aami.org/publications.
AAMI Releases FAQ Resource on Wireless Challenge in Healthcare
Wireless support has been added to my responsibilities, and I don’t know anything about it. Where can I go to learn?
That is the first question in a new document of FAQs dealing with the wireless challenge in healthcare. Released by AAMI, the project is the work of AAMI’s Wireless Strategy Task Force, which was created in the fall of 2012 to dig deeper into the wireless challenges that many healthcare facilities now face.
The free resource, FAQs for the Wireless Challenge in Healthcare, contains a total of 70 questions, covering a wide array of topics, including regulatory matters, architecture and network design, prepurchase and preinstallation information, security, and management of the wireless network.
“The more ubiquitous the use of wireless solutions, the more challenges there are,” said Steve Baker, senior principal engineer at Welch Allyn. “To aid in understanding those challenges in health delivery organizations where the number of different devices with wireless is staggering, we developed this document to help healthcare technology and IT experts, as well as facilities management professionals, get a handle on the issues and gain an understanding of some of the fundamental precepts of wireless networks.”
Baker led the FAQ project for AAMI, writing much of the content. He was assisted by Rick Hampton, wireless communications manager at Partners HealthCare Systems; Scott Coleman, network technologies manager at Welch Allyn; and Paul Sherman, a consultant who is retired from the Veterans Affairs. All are members of the task force.
You can download a free copy of the FAQs at www.aami.org/hottopics/wireless/AAMI/042514_WirelessFAQ.pdf
AAMI has additional resources focusing on wireless technology on one of its “Hot Topics” pages at www.aami.org/hottopics/wireless/index.html.
