Clinical engineers’ services and physicians’ orders

Abstract

Since the 1950s, more and more medical equipments have been introduced into the medical field, so that medical professionals are required to operate, maintain, and inspect medical equipments. The Japanese Society of ME and other related academic societies lobbied the government, which led to the Clinical Engineer’s Law being enacted in 1987 and coming into effect in 1988. In 2021, the Clinical Engineer’s Law was revised to allow to secure intravenous lines and administer drugs in intensive care units. Clinical engineers are allowed to operate life-support equipments under the direction of a physician, but their specific duties are not stipulated and it is considered appropriate to take decisions in light of socially accepted norms. Although instructions from a physician are required for a clinical engineer to perform medical procedures, physicians do not necessarily have knowledge about studies that form the basis of the medical procedures performed by the clinical engineer. Therefore, the performance of medical procedures by clinical engineers not only requires one-way instructions from the physician to the clinical engineer, but also two-way communication that includes consultation of and suggestions from the clinical engineer.