Achieving the promise of clinical engineering.

Clinical engineering has failed to make the impact expected of it in the early 1970's. This failure has occurred because clinical engineering has not matured as any discipline must to achieve professional status. It does not embody a clearly understood set of capabilities. It is not based on a well-defined body of knowledge. It does not have a professional society directly representing it. This condition can be remedied by the establishment of a professional society for clinical engineering that can educate consumers about the capabilities of clinical engineers, guide providers in designing clinical engineering curricula, and promote increased involvement of clinical engineers in all high-technology areas of hospitals and in the decision-making process at their institutions.