ECRI Institute Releases C-Suite Watch List of Top 10 Hospital Technology Issues for 2013

New white paper addresses top issues impacting patient safety, capital expenditures, and care delivery

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Feb. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Healthcare reform, accountable care organizations, readmissions, and reimbursement rates are just a few of the major challenges facing today's healthcare leaders. Balancing costs and savings potential for new technologies also weighs heavily on their shoulders. A new Watch List from ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit that researches best approaches to improving patient care, provides a roadmap to 10 technology issues that healthcare leaders should have on their radar in 2013 and beyond.

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ECRI Institute's Top 10 C-Suite Watch List: Hospital Technology Issues for 2013 reflects ongoing impacts of healthcare reform initiatives and new technology developments. Some of the technologies represent huge capital investments, such as PET/MR. Others, including mHealth, metabolic surgery, and low-dose computed tomography lung screening, may greatly affect operations and care patterns.

"New demands for information and clinical technology are top issues for executives and objective perspectives are critical," says Jeffrey C. Lerner, PhD, president and chief executive officer, ECRI Institute.

Technology issues on this year's Watch List include:

1. Electronic Health Records: You've achieved Meaningful Use, but how safe is your EHR?
2. Mobile Health: What exactly is it, and what can it do for me?
3. Alarm Integration Technology: Will you be able to reduce alarm fatigue and improve alarm management?
4. Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery: Is TAVI ready for liftoff?
5. Imaging and Surgery: What imaging won't be done in an OR?
6. PET/MR: The hybrid that everyone has to have?
7. Bariatric Surgery: Is it a cure for type II diabetes?
8. Supply Chain: Will MR-compatible pacemakers explode your supply expenses?
9. Radiation Dose Safety: CT dose limbo dance—how low can you go?
10. Lung Cancer Screenings: Enough lung capacity to get in the race?

"Hospital leaders should ask if new technology or procedures really improve patient care and make it a less costly patient-care experience," says Robert Maliff, director of applied solutions, ECRI Institute.

This year's Watch List draws upon ECRI Institute's 45 years of experience evaluating the safety, effectiveness, 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. 

ECRI Institute's Top 10 C-Suite Watch List: Hospital Technology Issues for 2013 is available for download at no charge at www.ecri.org/2013watchlist (registration required). For additional questions 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.

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 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). 

SOURCE ECRI Institute