ECRI Unveils 2015 Watch List
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
The top ten topics for C-suite leaders to pay attention to for improving patient care in 2015 have been revealed.
The ECRI Institute has released its2015 Top 10 Hospital C-Suite Watch List of topics for hospitals leaders to follow during the next 12 to 18 months. ECRI Institute is an independent nonprofit organization that engages in research regarding the best approaches to improving patient care.
The current trend towards telehealth to help reduce costs and improve patient outcomes is definitely driving this year’s list of trends: the adoption of telehealth, the use of data analytics and management software; and the ability of care coordination clinics to reduce hospital readmissions all made the top ten.
“C-suite leaders need a concise way of seeing where new and emerging health technologies fit, if at all, in their health systems,” said Diane Robertson, director, health technology assessment, ECRI Institute, in a statement. “Backed by our unbiased, evidence-based research, our annual Watch List helps hospital leaders make technology and infrastructure decisions based on clinical evidence and cost.”
The study authors explained that the 2015 analysis focused on “infection control, cancer care, obesity, surgery, and diabetes” as well as on “a number of health information systems issues and technologies such as middleware for alarm management, Google Glass for various clinical applications, wearable wireless sensors, and future directions for telehealth services.” It also addresses a care model to improve out care and outcomes for adolescent and young adult cancer patients.
In its 2015 list, ECRI Institute includes:
- Disinfection Robots: Do They Help Prevent Hospital-Acquired Infections?
- Three-dimensional (3-D) Printing Buzz: How Many 3-D Printers Should You Plan on in 2015?
- Middleware Is Everywhere: Can It Help You Meet the National Patient Safety Goal on Clinical Alarms?
- Post-discharge Clinics: Do They Prevent Readmissions and Save You Money?
- Google Glass – Dead for Consumers but Maybe Not for Healthcare: Will Your Clinicians and Patients See Any Benefits?
- New Anti-obesity Devices: Should You Plan to Add Them to Your Bariatric Armamentarium?
- Caring for Millennials with Cancer: Should You Create Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Centers to Improve Outcomes?
- Fecal Microbiota Therapy: New Hope for Other Serious GI Disorders?
- Artificial Pancreas Device Systems: What’s Coming after the First-generation System?
- Telehealth: Have We Passed the Tipping Point in Clinical Use?
“Hospital leaders must carefully examine their strategic and operational plans, and assess the relevance of these new technologies or infrastructure initiatives for their organizations. Our list shows them what’s coming around the bend so they don’t miss out on the newest innovations or get caught up in hype that can lead to a costly mistake,” says Robert Maliff, director of applied solutions for ECRI Institute.
Interestingly, although they predict that Google Glass has great potential in surgery and other healthcare avenues, this prediction may be premature, given Google’s recent announcement not to move forward with commercial production of the Glass.
The list is available here.