From Google Glass to 3-D Printing, ECRI Institute Spotlights Top 10 Healthcare Technology Issues for 2015

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Jan. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The latest healthcare technologies and care process innovations are pounding on hospital doors and looking through windows—and they want in. Will they actually improve patient care, or inflate hospital budgets for infrastructure, capital equipment, and physician preference items?

ECRI Institute's 2015 Top 10 Hospital C-Suite Watch List, available as a free public service, answers key questions on new and emerging health technologies that potentially provide new ways to treat patients, improve care, and reduce costs.

"C-suite leaders need a concise way of seeing where new and emerging health technologies fit, if at all, in their health systems," says Diane Robertson, director, health technology assessment, ECRI Institute. "Backed by our unbiased, evidence-based research, our annual Watch List helps hospital leaders make technology and infrastructure decisions based on clinical evidence and cost."

In its 2015 list, ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, examines 10 topics that hospital leaders should keep their eyes on over the next 12-18 months, including:

1. Disinfection Robots: A Front-line Assault on Hospital-acquired Infections?
2. Three-dimensional (3-D) Printing Buzz: How Many 3-D Printers Should You Plan on in 2015?
3. Middleware Is Everywhere: Can It Help You Meet the National Patient Safety Goal on Clinical Alarms?
4. Postdischarge Clinics: Do They Prevent Readmissions and Save You Money?
5. Google Glass—Dead for Consumers but Maybe Not for Healthcare: Will Your Clinicians and Patients See Any Benefits?
6. New Anti-obesity Devices: Should You Add Them to Your Bariatric Armamentarium?
7. Caring for Millennials with Cancer: Should You Create Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Centers to Improve Outcomes?
8. Fecal Microbiota Therapy: New Hope for Other Serious GI Disorders?
9. Artificial Pancreas Device Systems: What's Coming after the First-generation System?
10. Telehealth: Have We Passed the Tipping Point in Clinical Use?

"Hospital leaders must carefully examine their strategic and operational plans, and assess the relevance of these new technologies or infrastructure initiatives for their organizations. Our list shows them what's coming around the bend so they don't miss out on the newest innovations or get caught up in hype that can lead to a costly mistake," says Rob Maliff, director, applied solutions, ECRI Institute.

For added convenience, each entry includes actionable recommendations in a quick-glance "What to Do" section. Professionals are also encouraged to join ECRI Institute's new LinkedIn Group, "Emerging Healthcare Technologies in Patient Care," for further discussion of these topics.

The Watch List draws upon ECRI Institute's more than 45 years of experience evaluating and providing technical assistance on the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of health technologies. It reflects the unbiased, independent judgment of the Institute's multidisciplinary staff of clinical and technical researchers, engineers, risk management specialists, and healthcare planners and consultants. It is also informed by the work that ECRI Institute performs as a contractor to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for the National Healthcare Horizon Scanning System.

ECRI Institute's 2015 Top 10 Hospital C-suite Watch List is available for download at www.ecri.org/2015watchlist (registration required). For additional information about the Watch List or ECRI Institute's patient safety and technology support services, contact ECRI Institute by telephone at (610) 825-6000, ext. 5655; by e-mail at [email protected], or by mail at 5200 Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-1298, USA.

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About ECRI Institute
ECRI Institute (www.ecri.org), a nonprofit organization, dedicates itself to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to healthcare to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are best to enable improved patient care. As pioneers in this science for more than 45 years, ECRI Institute marries experience and independence with the objectivity of evidence-based research. Strict conflict-of-interest guidelines ensure objectivity. ECRI Institute is designated an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ECRI Institute PSO is listed as a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Find ECRI Institute on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ECRIInstitute) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ECRI_Institute).

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SOURCE ECRI Institute

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