HCB News: This year's eXchange will take place in Long Beach, CA. Why was that location chosen? Will there be a virtual component?
PA: AAMI members hail from every part of the country, and eXchange is moved around each year so that our attendees, many of whom might not have the opportunity to travel across the country to attend a conference, can participate easily. We’re expecting even more attendees than we had last year, and Long Beach is ready for them!

Like last year, AAMI thought leaders will be live streaming from the expo hall floor and highlighting some of our favorite discussions for our social media followers, but it’s best to be there in person to enjoy this kind of reunion. We’re pulling out all the stops to make it worth the trip.

For the second time ever, AAMI will be hosting a conference-wide party on Saturday evening, June 17. This is a can't-miss event! Everyone will be at The Cove outside the Long Beach Convention Center for an unforgettable evening of food, drink, and games. And speaking of games, we’re also hosting our first golf tournament at Skylinks at Long Beach Golf Course on Friday, just before the conference start up. I’m told spots are filling up fast, so be sure to register for the tournament when you register for eXchange!

HCB News: Right to repair is an issue of particular interest to our readers. What's been happening on that front recently?
DM: AAMI is the neutral convener for conversation and collaboration. We want to see both manufacturers and technicians at our table working to define best practices and standardize the field. And as a result, we’ve seen some really exciting ideas:

• Standardizing the language for Instructions for Use
• Identifying which hospital devices might fall into a ‘grey area’ for maintenance responsibility.
• Augmented and virtual reality training solutions in collaboration with manufacturers.

These ideas and more may influence how the Right to Repair discussion evolves, but it remains AAMI’s priority to provide opportunities for collaboration in the interest of patient safety. AAMI also serves of the neutral convener for the Medical Device Servicing Committee which hopes to be recognized as a formal “Collaborative Community” under the FDA in the next year or so.

HCB News: For those who are unfamiliar, what type of medical equipment stakeholders should consider membership in AAMI?
PA: AAMI encourages any organization consuming or developing healthcare products to join. In the healthcare industry, AAMI is the bridge between HDO leadership, HTM departments, service providers, and medical device manufactures. AAMI’s community advances industry-wide consensus standards on critical issues. The scope of these issue touches upon sterilization, packaging, electrical safety, cybersecurity, home healthcare, and—perhaps now more than ever—the management of AI in medical devices.

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