The ECRI Institute has released its “Top 10 Health technology Hazards for 2016” and alarm fatigue is not No. 1.
Endoscope cleaning sits atop the list for 2016 followed by “Missed Alarms Can Have Fatal Consequences.”
“ECRI Institute is providing this abridged version of its 2016 Top 10 list of health technology hazards as a free public service to inform healthcare facilities about important safety issues involving the use of medical devices and systems,” according to the ECRI Institute.
The full report is available to members of certain ECRI Institute programs through
membership web pages.
The Top 10 Health technology Hazards for 2016 are:
- Inadequate Cleaning of Flexible Endoscopes before Disinfection Can
Spread Deadly Pathogens
- Missed Alarms Can Have Fatal Consequences
- Failure to Effectively Monitor Postoperative Patients for Opioid-Induced
Respiratory Depression Can Lead to Brain Injury or Death
- Inadequate Surveillance of Monitored Patients in a Telemetry Setting
May Put Patients at Risk
- Insufficient Training of Clinicians on Operating Room Technologies Puts
Patients at Increased Risk of Harm
- Errors Arise When HIT Configurations and Facility Workflow Do Not Support
Each Other
- Unsafe Injection Practices Expose Patients to Infectious Agents
- Gamma Camera Mechanical Failures Can Lead to Serious Injury
or Death
- Failure to Appropriately Operate Intensive Care Ventilators Can Result in
Preventable Ventilator-Induced Lung Injuries
- Misuse of USB Ports Can Cause Medical Devices to Malfunction
For additional information, visit https://www.ecri.org/Pages/2016-Hazards.aspx.