Ethical Considerations in Clinical Engineering

Abstract

To many, clinical engineering is often confused as being the same as biomedical engineering. In particular, the former is actually a branch of biomedical engineering that manages the deployment of medical technology and integrates it appropriately with desired medical practices. Typically, a clinical engineer works in a healthcare establishment such as a hospital or a specialists’ center. The clinical engineer can be considered as a professional who would bridge the communication gaps amongst the medical, administrative, and technical personnel in the healthcare sector. From this regard, the work undertaken by a clinical engineer would have a direct impact in improving the care for patients by leveraging technological solutions in the diagnosis and therapy. By the definition of the American College of Clinical Engineering (ACCE), a clinical engineer is a professional who supports and advances patient care by applying engineering and management skills to healthcare technology (American College of Clinical Engineering (ACCE) 2011). Figure 3.1 shows that there are a number of career options (though not an exhaustive list) for a biomedical engineer which includes being a clinical engineer.