Over the years, it’s always been interesting to take a look at the Top 10 Health Technology Hazards reports that the ECRI Institute puts out each year. Healthcare IT always seems to show up on the list which is interesting since I hear very few healthcare IT salespeople talk about the risks of their systems vs the benefits.
I’m not exactly sure when ECRI puts out these annual reports, but the 2019 report is already out. However, before we look at the Top 10 Health Hazards for 2019, I like to look back at what was on their list from 2018:
1. Ransomware and Other Cybersecurity Threats to Healthcare Delivery Can Endanger Patients
2. Endoscope Reprocessing Failures Continue to Expose Patients to Infection Risk
3. Mattresses and Covers May Be Infected by Body Fluids and Microbiological Contaminants
4. Missed Alarms May Result from Inappropriately Configured Secondary Notification Devices and Systems
5. Improper Cleaning May Cause Device Malfunctions, Equipment Failures, and Potential for Patient Injury
6. Unholstered Electrosurgical Active Electrodes Can Lead to Patient Burns
7. Inadequate Use of Digital Imaging Tools May Lead to Unnecessary Radiation Exposure
8. Workarounds Can Negate the Safety Advantages of Bar-Coded Medication Administration Systems
9. Flaws in Medical Device Networking Can Lead to Delayed or Inappropriate Care
10. Slow Adoption of Safer Enteral Feeding Connectors Leaves Patients at Risk
And now a look at the list of healthcare technology hazards for 2019:
1. Hackers Can Exploit Remote Access to Systems, Disrupting Healthcare Operations
2. “Clean” Mattresses Can Ooze Body Fluids onto Patients
3. Retained Sponges Persist as a Surgical Complication Despite Manual Counts
4. Improperly Set Ventilator Alarms Put Patients at Risk for Hypoxic Brain Injury or Death
5. Mishandling Flexible Endoscopes after Disinfection Can Lead to Patient Infections
6. Confusing Dose Rate with Flow Rate Can Lead to Infusion Pump Medication Errors
7. Improper Customization of Physiologic Monitor Alarm Settings May Result in Missed Alarms
8. Injury Risk from Overhead Patient Lift Systems
9. Cleaning Fluid Seeping into Electrical Components Can Lead to Equipment Damage and Fires
10. Flawed Battery Charging Systems and Practices Can Affect Device Operation
In a bit of a surprising result to me, the only thing on the list that qualifies as healthcare IT to me is the first one focused on hackers accessing health IT systems and disrupting the healthcare operations. It’s no surprise that hackers are on the list, but I’d have thought more health IT components would be on there. Even something like inappropriate alerts or incorrect information in the EHR or even health IT system downtime.
I’m not sure if we should applaud healthcare IT for not really making the list or whether it’s more of an indication of the other things being more hazardous. What is an important takeaway from these lists is that healthcare organizations have a lot of different hazards to deal with in their environment. Poorly implemented health IT is only one of them.