ECRI Institute releases its 2010 Top Ten Health Technology Hazards, a list of hazards that healthcare organizations should protect against. The list is available now as a free download.
The list of hazards is updated each year based upon the prevalence and severity of incidents reported to ECRI Institute by healthcare facilities nationwide; information found in the Institute’s medical device problem reporting databases; and the judgment, analysis, and expertise of the organization’s multidisciplinary staff. Many of the items on this year’s list are well-recognized hazards with numerous reported incidents over the years. This list is designed to answer the question, “Where do you start when trying to minimize the risks from healthcare technology?”
The 2010 list, published as a guidance article in the November 2009 issue of ECRI Institute’s Health Devices journal, offers information about how the hazards occur with recommendations for prevention, plus a comprehensive resource list for more in-depth information.
Five of the top ten hazards outlined in ECRI Institute’s 2010 list are:
Cross-contamination from Flexible Endoscopes
Alarm Hazards
High Radiation Dose from Computed Tomography
Retained Devices and Un-retrieved Fragments Left in Patients
Problems with Computerized Equipment and Systems
“Because these ten technology hazards pose significant danger to patient care, we believe that all hospitals and health systems should prioritize and address them in the coming year,” says James P. Keller, Jr., Vice President, Health Technology and Safety, ECRI Institute. “Ideally, we also recommend that hospitals dedicate a part of their patient safety and quality improvements efforts to addressing healthcare technology issues like these.”
Healthcare professionals can obtain the complete 2010 list and its recommendations at no cost by using the following link: https://www.ecri.org/Forms/Pages/2010_Top_10_Technology_Hazards.aspx
The Health Devices journal is provided to members of ECRI Institute’s Health Devices System, Health Devices Gold, and SELECTplus™ programs. Health Devices features comparative, brand-name evaluations of medical devices and systems based on extensive laboratory testing and clinical studies. ECRI Institute’s evaluations focus on the safety, performance, efficacy, and human factors design of specific medical devices and technologies.