ECRI Names Top 10 Technology Issues for Hospital Executives to Watch

January 4, 2012 – ECRI, 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 list takes into account critical patient safety, as well as economic and regulatory pressures currently facing healthcare executives.

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 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,” says ECRI president and CEO Jeffrey C. Lerner, Ph.D.

ECRI’s new report, “Top 10 C-Suite Watch List: Hospital Technology Issues for 2012,” available for free download, contains executive-level overviews and ECRI’s 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 the Top 10 Hazards report, issued separately.

ECRI Institute’s Top 10 C-Suite Watch List includes:

1. Electronic Health Records

2. Minimally Invasive Bariatric Surgery

3. Digital Breast Tomosynthesis

4. New CT Radiation Reduction Technologies

5. Transcatheter Heart Valve Implantation

6. Robotic-Assisted Surgery

7. New Cardiac Stent Developments

8. Ultrahigh-field-strength MRI Systems

9. Personalized Therapeutic Vaccines for Cancer

10. Proton Beam Radiation Therapy

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

For more information: www.ecri.org