ECRI Institute Puts 10 Technology Issues on its 2012 Watch List for Hospital Executives

Electronic health records, new surgical options, advances in imaging technologies, cardiac developments, and more covered in new white paper, available for free download  

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Jan. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- ECRI Institute (www.ecri.org), an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, listed 10 health technology issues that hospital leaders should have on their watch lists for 2012. The just-released list takes into account the convergence of critical patient safety, economic, and regulatory pressures currently facing healthcare executives.

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Technology issues on this year's list span a variety of clinical and operational areas, including health IT, cardiovascular implants, minimally invasive surgical advancements, cancer therapies, and imaging and radiology services. According to the report, careful consideration of all the factors affecting whether and how to adopt these interventions will be crucial for short- and long-term strategic planning, cost-effective implementation, and optimal safety and effectiveness for patients.

"Technology is increasingly a top management concern, and is no longer confined to clinical and technical decision making. Themes emerging on our 2012 list reflect ongoing impacts of healthcare reform initiatives and new technology developments that emphasize patient-centered care," says ECRI Institute President and CEO Jeffrey C. Lerner, PhD.

"This list addresses safety improvements, interconnectedness of technology, personalized medicine tailored to individual care characteristics and preferences, and increasing cost pressures," adds Lerner.

ECRI Institute's new report, Top 10 C-Suite Watch List:  Hospital Technology Issues for 2012, available for free download, contains executive-level overviews and ECRI Institute's unbiased perspectives on complex and high-profile technologies and processes of care that are prominent and will continue to be so in the next few years. It complements ECRI Institute's Top 10 Hazards report, which was issued separately.

ECRI Institute's top 10 lists are designed to help hospital leaders prioritize their efforts.  

Four of the technologies on ECRI Institute's Top 10 C-Suite Watch List include:

• Electronic Health Records: Is Your Hospital Making all the Right Connections?     
• Transcatheter Heart Valve Implantation: Is Your Hospital Prepared for a Surge in Demand for Hybrid ORs?
• Digital Breast Tomosynthesis: Is Leapfrogging from Film to 3-D Digital Mammography the Right Decision?
• New CT Radiation Reduction Technologies: Are You Doing Enough to Slice the Dose and the Risk?

This year's watch list draws upon ECRI Institute's 43 years of experience evaluating the safety, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of health technologies, and through the comparative effectiveness and health technology assessment work of its Evidence-based Practice Center. The list 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. 

For a complete list of the top 10 technologies, including overviews and perspectives, download the 32-page white paper, ECRI Institute's Top 10 C-Suite Watch List:  Hospital Technology Issues for 2012, at no charge on ECRI Institute's Web site at www.ecri.org/2012watchlist (registration required).

For questions about any of the technologies in this paper, or for information about membership in the Health Technology Assessment Information Service™, Health Devices System™, or for consultation with our Applied Solutions Group,  contact ECRI Institute by telephone at (610) 825-6000, ext. 5152; by e-mail at [email protected]; by fax at (610) 834-1275, or by mail at 5200 Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-1298, USA. ECRI Institute's European office can be contacted at [email protected], ECRI Institute's Asia-Pacific office can be contacted at [email protected], and ECRI Institute's Middle Eastern office can be contacted at [email protected].

About ECRI Institute
ECRI Institute, 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 40 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 Resources. Find ECRI Institute on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ECRIInstitute) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ECRI_Institute). For more information, visit https://www.ecri.org.

SOURCE ECRI Institute