BTC Treatment Planning & Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which risk management tool is most commonly used by biomedical technicians to systematically identify potential equipment failure modes that could affect patient treatment?
- Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) (Correct answer)
- Corrective Action Report (CAR)
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
Correct answer: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
FMEA proactively identifies potential failure modes and their clinical impacts before they occur, making it the standard risk management tool for medical devices.
Question 2: A patient's ventilator alarm is silenced by a caregiver, and the biomedical technician later finds the alarm threshold was set outside manufacturer specifications. What corrective action applies?
- Reset alarms to manufacturer defaults and document the event (Correct answer)
- Replace the ventilator immediately
- Inform the caregiver not to adjust alarms
- Report only if the patient was harmed
Correct answer: Reset alarms to manufacturer defaults and document the event
Alarms must be restored to validated defaults and the event documented so patterns can be tracked and staff education can occur.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of acceptance testing performed by a biomedical technician when new treatment equipment arrives at a facility?
- To confirm the equipment matches the purchase order
- To verify the equipment meets safety and performance specifications before clinical use (Correct answer)
- To train clinical staff on device operation
- To establish the depreciation schedule for accounting
Correct answer: To verify the equipment meets safety and performance specifications before clinical use
Acceptance testing confirms the device operates within its published safety and performance specifications before it is used on patients.
Question 4: During a preventive maintenance visit on a defibrillator, the delivered energy measured is 15% below the set energy at 200J. What action should the technician take?
- Flag the unit for the next scheduled service
- Remove the unit from service and repair before return to clinical use (Correct answer)
- Increase the default setting to compensate
- Document and notify the charge nurse
Correct answer: Remove the unit from service and repair before return to clinical use
A defibrillator delivering significantly less energy than set poses a direct patient risk and must be removed from service until repaired and recalibrated.
Question 5: Which regulatory body requires facilities to maintain medical device maintenance records and sets standards for equipment used in Medicare/Medicaid-funded healthcare?
- FDA
- The Joint Commission (TJC)
- CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) (Correct answer)
- NIST
Correct answer: CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
CMS Conditions of Participation require facilities to maintain comprehensive medical equipment maintenance records as a condition of Medicare and Medicaid funding.
Question 6: A biomedical technician is reviewing equipment downtime data and notices one physiologic monitor model accounts for 60% of unplanned failures. What is the best management response?
- Increase preventive maintenance frequency for that model (Correct answer)
- Replace all units of that model immediately
- Assign a dedicated technician to monitor the units
- Submit a MAUDE report and notify the manufacturer
Correct answer: Increase preventive maintenance frequency for that model
Increasing PM frequency directly targets the failure pattern by catching wear and component degradation earlier, reducing unplanned downtime.
Question 7: When a treatment planning system (TPS) is used to calculate radiation dose, which biomedical technician responsibility ensures the computational hardware supports accurate calculations?
- Verifying network firewall rules
- Ensuring the workstation meets the TPS vendor's validated hardware specifications (Correct answer)
- Installing antivirus updates on the TPS server
- Configuring user access roles in the system
Correct answer: Ensuring the workstation meets the TPS vendor's validated hardware specifications
TPS vendors validate their software on specific hardware configurations, and deviations can affect calculation accuracy and patient safety.
BTC Treatment Planning & Management 3
Which risk management tool is most commonly used by biomedical technicians to systematically identify potential equipment failure modes that could affect patient treatment?