An informal coalition of concerned parties has formed to discuss a recent U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announcement that manufacturer-recommended maintenance frequencies are required for all equipment critical to patient health and safety. The Dec. 2 CMS announcement, which was greeted with dismay by many hospital-based biomeds, also calls for hospitals to follow manufacturer-recommended maintenance frequencies on any new equipment until a sufficient amount of maintenance history for that equipment has been acquired.
The coalition includes various medical equipment users and others, including representatives from The Joint Commission (TJC), AAMI, ECRI Institute, and healthcare facilities. To help the group determine its next steps, AAMI is now accepting comments and recommendations from all interested parties about the CMS announcement. AAMI would like to know how affected parties would be impacted, with specific data and/or examples encouraged.
CLICK HERE to participate and submit comments.
CLICK HERE to view/download the full CMS memorandum as a PDF file.
The CMS memo, distributed to state survey agency directors, is described as a “clarification of hospital equipment maintenance requirements” and comes more than a year after TJC, the largest healthcare accrediting organization in the country, had announced that a change was coming. At that time, TJC indicated that it had persuaded CMS to grant healthcare facilities more latitude in setting PM schedules. The new guidance is more restrictive than what TJC initially described.
According to CMS, biomeds and clinical engineers can adjust the PM schedule for noncritical equipment by using strategies different from what the manufacturer recommends. But the hospital must create an evidence-based assessment that shows “the frequency adjustment will not adversely affect patient or staff health and safety.” And CMS says that hospitals can’t deviate from the maintenance methods recommended by the manufacturer.
CLICK HERE to view the original AAMI News article.
