The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering are working together to explore potential solutions to a federal directive on maintenance schedules. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Dec. 2 issued a memo to state survey directors on upkeep of medical devices, stating that hospitals cannot stray from the manufacturer's preventive maintenance (PM) recommendations for critical equipment. Adjustments to the PM interval for noncritical equipment are allowed under certain conditions. The two groups also are working with George Mills, head of the Joint Commission's engineering department, to meet with top CMS officials to discuss the issue.
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