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Whats New in the
Patient Safety World
March 2024
ECRI Top 10 Health Technology
Hazards for 2024
ECRI has published its annual Top
10 Health Technology Hazards list for 2024 (ECRI 2024).
1.
Medical Devices May
Pose Usability Challenges for Home Users, Risking Misuse and Patient Harm
2.
Inadequate or Onerous
Device Cleaning Instructions Endanger Patients
3.
Sterile Drug
Compounding without the Use of Technological Safeguards Increases the Risk of
Medication Errors
4.
Overlooked
Environmental Impacts of Patient Care Endanger Public Health
5.
Insufficient Governance
of AI Used in Medical Technologies Risks Inappropriate Care Decisions
6.
Ransomware Targeting
the Healthcare Sector Remains a Critical Threat
7.
Increased Burn Risk
with Single-Foil Electrosurgical Return Electrodes
8.
Infusion Pump Damage
Remains a Medication Safety Concern
9.
Poor QC of Implantable
Orthopedic Products Can Lead to Surgical Delays and Patient Harm
10.
Third-Party Web
Analytics Software Can Compromise Patient Confidentiality
We dont have much to add to ECRIs
list and we refer you to the ECRI list itself for details.
Item #7 Increased Burn Risk with
Single-Foil Electrosurgical Return Electrodes is a valuable addition to our
list of iatrogenic burns. Weve discussed electrosurgical safety in our Patient
Safety Tips of the Week for July
28, 2020 Electrosurgical Safety and December 5, 2023 Thermal Injuries During
Surgery. As is often the case with many such electrosurgical burns,
ECRI notes that clinicians were not aware of the risks
of burns associated with the use of single-foil
conductive return electrodes in several cases reported to them.
Our prior columns on iatrogenic burns:
- March 2009 Risk of Burns during MRI Scans from Transdermal Drug Patches
- June 1, 2010 Iatrogenic Burns
- October 5, 2010 More Iatrogenic Burns
- December 23, 2014 Iatrogenic Burns in the News Again
- March 2015 Another Source of Iatrogenic Burns
- September 5, 2017 Another
Iatrogenic Burn
- June 5, 2018 Pennsylvania
Patient Safety Authority on Iatrogenic Burns
- July 28, 2020 Electrosurgical Safety
- January 2021 New MRI Risk: Face
Masks
- May 3, 2022 Iatrogenic Burns Again
- December 6, 2022 Rare Risk
Defibrillator Fires
· April 25, 2023 Joint Commission: Beware Light Source Burns
- December 5, 2023 Thermal Injuries During Surgery
References:
ECRI. Top 10 Health Technology
Hazards for 2024 Executive Brief. ECRI 2024
https://www.ecri.org/2024hazards/
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