ECRI Institute has
released its annual Top 10 list for health technology hazards for 2018 (ECRI 2017). They are:
Most of these have
been on ECRI’s lists at some time in the past. But the cybersecurity
issue really vaulted to the top of the list this year after hospital systems
ground to a halt after ransomware attacks. HealthLeaders
Media (Pecci
2017) noted six points for leadership to consider
from Juuso Leinonen, senior project engineer for ECRI
Institute's Health Devices Group:
Again on this year’s list is the one regarding
secondary alarm notification systems. You’ll recall in our February 9,
2016 Patient Safety Tip of the Week “It
was just a matter of time…”
we described a case in which the alarm notification went out to a healthcare
worker who was not assigned to that patient rather than to the correct person.
Electrosurgical electrode pencil handling also made this year’s list. Proper use of
safety holsters for active-electrode pencils is critical to avoid inadvertent
activation of ESU pencils. We’ve done numerous columns on the role of
electrocautery devices causing both surgical fires and iatrogenic burns. Our September
5, 2017 Patient Safety Tip of the Week “Another
Iatrogenic Burn” discussed
in detail issues related to electrocautery devices.
We’ll let you read about these and all the others in the ECRI document itself. You can download ECRI Institute’s Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2018 for free at the ECRI site.
References:
ECRI Institute. Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2018. ECRI Institute. November 2017
https://www.ecri.org/Pages/2018-Hazards.aspx
Pecci AW. 6 Things Healthcare Execs Should Do to Prepare for Cyber Threats. HealthLeaders Media 2017; November 21, 2017
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