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Biomedical subjects

E Furst

Publications and source records attributed to E Furst.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

An update to the medical device reporting requirements of the Safe Medical Device Act.

The Safe Medical Devices Act made hospitals, nursing homes, and a variety of other health care organizations responsible for identifying and reporting injuries associated with the use of medical devices. The Final Regulation for the Medical Device Reporting of adverse events became effective on July 31, 1996. The Final Regulations incorporate significant changes from the "Proposed Final Regulations," and these changes need to be conveyed to appropriate staff of all device user facilities. Changes include the mandated reporting of user error, the Food and Drug Administration emphasis on the device manufacturer as the prime investigator of adverse events, the 10-day reporting rule that now becomes effective as soon as the facility becomes aware of the event, and the clarification of definitions for user facilities. Staff education and training are no longer mandated by the regulations, but some education is required if compliance with the law is to be ensured.

Equipment Failure↗
PubMed1994

The Safe Medical Device Act.

The Safe Medical Devices Act of 1990 and subsequent federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations provide a new dimension in the regulation of health care institutions. For the first time, the FDA has the power to require many health care facilities to investigate, document, and report serious events related to all medical devices, from ventricular assist devices, to catheters, to sutures. The FDA also has the power to require facilities to track certain devices from receipt, through patient use, to disposal. Staff must be trained, procedures implemented, and compliance achieved. Lack of compliance may carry civil and criminal penalties in the future, affect liability and risk management, and influence accreditation.

Consumer Product Safety↗
PubMed1980

Independent learning: a self-instructional videotape approach in psychiatry.

In response to the increased need to train well-rounded general practitioners within a limited time schedule, the teaching staff developed a self-instructional videotape programme devoted to suicide assessment. This tape, if successful, was to serve as a pilot for a full series of 18 tapes devoted to the assessment and treatment of normally stable patients suffering acute situational stress. In order to avoid the passivity induced by most educational tapes and films, a self-instructional format was adapted to the videotape medium and extensively tested. Students in the experimental group scored significantly higher on three of four measures of effectiveness than did the control group. Students and teachers both strongly supported the production of tapes using a similar format.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗
PubMed1978

An alternative phototherapy light combination.

Combinations of fluorescent lamps for phototherapy were evaluated in order to select one that maximizes blue light content (400 to 500 nanometers) for most effective photodegradation of bilirubin, maintains acceptable color balance for observing infant skin color, and requires minimal lamp replacement for low maintenance cost. The combination that best achieves these objectives consists of four special blue (Westinghouse F20T12-BB) and four broad spectrum (Verd-A-Ray F20T12-CC) lamps that produce blue radiation in excess of an array of eight conventional blue lamps, a spectrum closely approximating that of natural light, and at least 80% of the original blue radiation after 2,100 hours of use.

Biomedical Engineering↗
PubMedDate not supplied

DRGs and prospective payment: an introduction to the issues facing clinical engineering programs.

DRGs--these letters, spoken as frequently as they now are, may sound familiar and perhaps even sinister. They have rapidly become the driving force of the health care system. Medicare is the largest purchaser of health care and has engineered a financing program based upon DRGs. Since other insurers are joining the program, the health care industry, along with its suppliers and clients, will never again be treated as it was in the past. As participants in the system, our work and our careers will also be changed. Yet, as with any change, there will be opportunities to acquire knowledge, to grow professionally, and to contribute to society. If hospitals are to provide quality care in a cost-effective and efficient manner, it will be both because of and in spite of technology. The appropriate selection, use, and maintenance of technology is an intrinsic part of the system. The clinical engineer's role will be to contribute technical and managerial expertise in support of the institution--in other words, in the management of technology.

Biomedical Engineering↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Productivity and cost-effectiveness of clinical engineering.

Finances have become the dominant concern of hospital administrators and department heads. Clinical Engineering (CE) can make significant contributions to the financial health of a hospital by increasing CE departmental productivity and by improving the utilization of resources in clinical departments. Several measures of productivity and cost-effectiveness have been applied to the Biomedical Engineering Department of the University Medical Center. The Department provides a wide range of technical services that are integrated into the clinical and administrative activities of the hospital. The Department has accumulated data regarding the financial benefits provided to the hospital, and the data reveal significant savings which show that CE can be viewed as a cost-effective investment. The greatest savings occur in capital equipment acquisition (selection and installation) and maintenance, and result from CE involvement in clinical activities and administrative decision making.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cost-effective quality assurance of rented medical equipment.

The Biomedical Engineering Department (BME) at the University Medical Center, Tucson, Arizona, noted a sharp increase in the use of rented medical equipment. To increase efficiency, control costs, and provide effective quality assurance for rented equipment, a Medical Equipment Rental Vendor (MERV) program was formulated. The program increases efficiency by placing the burden of verifying safety and performance on the MERVs. Performance requirements were developed for the MERVs. The vendors who agreed to the requirements were compiled into a list of preferred vendors to be the primary suppliers of rental medical equipment to UMC. These preferred vendors were given preapproval from BME to deliver equipment directly to the requesting clinical department. All other vendors must continue to submit their equipment to BME for inspection. Policies were written to outline the responsibilities of the clinical departments and BME relative to the MERVs. Frequency of sampling, means of documentation, and assurance of user training were included. Response from the vendors and clinical departments has been positive. Communication between the vendors, clinical departments, and BME has improved through the development and implementation of this program. Vendor and equipment quality have been maintained or improved since compliance with the performance requirements is necessary to maintain preferred vendor status.

Arizona↗