ABSTRACT
The development, understanding, and use of standards is an important component of a clinical engineer’s activities. Whether involved in industry, a health care facility, governmental affairs, or commercial enterprise, one way or another, the clinical engineer will find that standards are a significant aspect of professional activities. With the increasing emphasis on health care cost containment and efficiency, coupled with the continued emphasis on patient outcome, standards must be viewed both as a mechanism to reduce expenses and as another mechanism to provide quality patient care. In any case, standards must be addressed in their own right, in terms of technical, economic, and legal implications.
