The summer is just beginning to heat up with this past week’s flurry of messaging originating from the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and once again resonating throughout the HTM community. One message in particular that caught my interest – BMET’s listen up – is regarding the immediate non-allowance of power strips in use with medical equipment in patient care areas.
This recent announcement and directive may be the closing chapter and possibly end of story as it relates to power strips and their presence in the healthcare delivery environment. This “new” announcement is not new at all and in many circles considered a long time coming. Personally, I am not a power strip fan. Proper configuration of room layouts with site specific medical equipment planning alleviates the need for power strips. Identifying and installing of power outlets in strategic locations to meet the medical device application within the patient care suite easily remedies the need for mobile power source pathway splitting. Too many plugs being supplied from one power source branch drives up the current draw and ZAP! BOOM! POOF! Remember the Griswold’s?
So what has driven this recent CMS announcement and directive? Don’t know but the use of power strips in conjunction with medical equipment in my opinion had become way out of control. The use of power strips as a “temporary solution” in most cases is more of a “financial band aid” by healthcare organizations opting to not install the additional power circuits and outlets required to appropriately and safely meet the operating requirements of the medical devices in use.
The HTM industry chatter over the next week’s and months ahead should prove to be interesting. Will a petition to the CMS asking for a “relaxing” of this recently announced directive follow from the HTM community? How will the manufacturers and distributors of power strip products react to this CMS announcement? Lots of questions and speculation are already buzzing around this topic. Stay tuned more to come but make sure you’re not plugged into a power strip – it may just get disconnected!
