AAMI, ECRI Institute Report Guides Executives on Meeting Key Healthcare Technology Safety Challenges

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) and ECRI Institute have joined forces in a first-of-its kind effort to help medical device and healthcare delivery executives identify and monitor trends related to technology safety issues.

In a new report, "Executive Insights on Healthcare Technology Safety," AAMI and ECRI Institute identify and address five major safety-related issues: alarm systems, Luer connectors, cybersecurity, batteries and recalls. These issues were chosen after an evaluation of recalls, safety notices, complaints, adverse incident reports, U.S. Food and Drug Administration priorities, and analyses of recurring problems identified by technology experts.

“As top executives at our respective organizations, we know just how difficult it is in a fast-paced environment to monitor and act on trends,” says AAMI president Mary Logan. “Patient safety should be a top priority, and this report educates leaders about the types of questions they should ask to stay in front of any potential technology challenge.”

“The growing complexity of medical technology has actually triggered some new patient safety challenges,” says Anthony J. Montagnolo, ECRI Institute’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “This report can help healthcare executives better understand where to focus their attention for maximum impact.” 

In the report’s introduction, Logan and Montagnolo state these primary goals:
• Synthesize key insights on safety issues that tell an important story
• Share wisdom on key technology-related issues that merit executives’ attention
• Move executives to the front end of issues

The report, a succinct and clear eight pages, summarizes each of the major safety issues, listing questions healthcare delivery and medical device executives should ask themselves. For example, on the topic of alarm systems, AAMI and ECRI advise healthcare delivery executives to consider deploying a multidisciplinary team to meet the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goal on alarm safety, while medical device executives are advised to determine how their technology is affecting overall alarm management issues in healthcare delivery.

A list of resources, many of which are free, accompanies each topic. With alarm systems, the resources include a webinar series from AAMI on compliance with the National Patient Safety Goal, as well as ECRI’s annual list of top health technology hazards, which includes information about alarm systems. Other issues include access to helpful resources from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, such as the webcast of the Battery-Powered Medical Devices Workshop and the Medical Devices Recall Report. These resources are available at http://www.aami.org/aami-ecri/.  

To access the free report, CLICK HERE. 

Source: AAMI, ECRI Institute