The website was developed by a coalition of three national associations—the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), the American College of Clinical Engineering (ACCE), and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)—which recently formed the CE-IT Community.

The website—www.ceitcollaboration.org—describes the new CE-IT Community; includes a copy of the group’s charter; as well as news coverage about the collaboration, background information about the three sponsoring organizations, and details about how individuals can become involved.

Over time, the website will also include detailed information about specific projects undertaken by the CE-IT Community, including guidance documents and publications, information about educational events, and the sharing of best practices.

"This website will serve as a clearinghouse of information and resources to address the evolving IT needs and issues facing the healthcare field," says Steve Campbell, AAMI’s Vice President of Communications. "As more projects get off the ground and are completed, the site will be particularly valuable."

Earlier this year, leaders of AAMI, ACCE, and HIMSS formed the CE-IT Community, thus pooling their expertise and knowledge and avoiding the duplication of efforts under way.

The alliance is intended to help improve patient care and safety and to boost the quality and cost-effectiveness of customer service. The groups also seek to:

• Foster further development of a united voice for IT and clinical engineering concerns, and provide a forum for its expression
• Provide a mechanism for developing resources, guidelines, and best practices for the CE-IT community, and provide education, research, certification, public policy, terminology, mentoring, advocacy, networking, and career services
• Explore appropriate collaboration of clinical engineering/IT functions
• Develop a framework for representing the interests of clinical engineering and IT departments to the broader healthcare community

Recently, more than 450 members of the three organizations took part in an online survey to help identify specific projects that the CE-IT Community should undertake. In the next several weeks, the CE-IT Steering Committee will review the survey results to determine the next steps forward.

The CE-IT Steering Committee includes two representatives from each of the three organizations—Bob Stiefel and Ray Laxton representing AAMI; Ray Zambuto and Steve Grimes representing ACCE; and Leanne Cordisco and Izabella Gieras representing HIMSS.

For more information about this effort, visit www.ceitcollaboration.org or contact Ray Zambuto at RZambuto@ACCENET.ORG.

Related links: AAMI: www.aami.org | HIMSS: www.himss.org | ACCE: www.accenet.org