OCTOBER - 202019TOOLS FOR IMPLEMENTING AN ALTERNATIVE EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT (AEM) PROGRAMSince 2014, healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals have been adjusting to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) clarification memo regarding the strict requirements for implementation of an Alternative Equipment Management (AEM) program. A common area of accreditation and state survey focus directly involves the AEM program. The key components and requirements of this program are clients' understanding and acceptance of the program and appropriate implementation of the program on behalf of the HTM professionals. As a point of reference, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) distributed a memorandum in 2014 clarifying that "hospitals may implement an Alternative Equipment Management program electing to adjust facility or medical equipment maintenance must develop policies and procedures and maintain documentation supporting their Alternate Equipment Management (AEM) program. They must adhere strictly to the AEM activities and/or frequencies they establish. Hospitals must be able to demonstrate that qualified personnel whether employees or contractorsare making the decisions to place equipment in the AEM program, performing the risk-based assessments, establishing the alternate equipment maintenance requirements, managing the AEM program and performing the maintenance in strict accordance with the AEM policies and procedures."The AEM, as defined in hospital accreditation programs (HAP) and critical access hospital programs (CAP), is classified as Alternative Equipment Maintenance program rather than "management program." For the sake of this article, AEM will reference it as applicable to CMS and accreditation requirements.Before diving into how to implement a compliant and effective AEM program, it is important to note the medical equipment that is not eligible for an AEM program, as these devices must follow Manufacturer PM frequencies:· Imaging & Radiological equipment· Laboratory equipment (due to federal lab regulatory requirements)· Medical equipment lasers· Any new equipment model brought into the medical equipment inventory without a minimum of one year of service history available to determine eligibility of an AEM program and frequency· State-specific regulations must be considered, as some states do not allow AEM strategies to be implementedCompliant AEM programs must consider the following as a requirement:· Risk assessment and patient safety· Manufacturer frequencies and service documentation· Qualified personnel· Hospital stakeholder adoptionDenisa Lambert, VP, Quality and Regulatory Compliance, TRIMEDXByCXO Insights
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