The independent patient safety organization's 2015 report spells out high-risk devices and systems that, combined with human error, can cause patient harm.
For the fourth year in a row, ECRI Institute's top 10 health technology hazards report has put hospital alarm mishaps in the top slot, indicating they remain a serious threat to patient safety.
The agency's 2015 report spells out high-risk devices and systems that, combined with human error, can cause errors and harm in the process of patient care. Among them are "ease-of-use issues, design flaws, quality issues, and failure of devices to perform as they should."
The independent organization draws on "expertise gained through testing and analyzing healthcare technologies" to override hype and marketing strategies that may make some organizations think certain medical devices are safer than they are.
The 2015 list includes several hazards that have been on the list for six years in some way, such as safety issues involved in the use of radiation devices, particularly diagnostic imaging with CT scanners.
The report says that the devices and technologies that make the list are selected in part based on the severity, frequency, impact, and media or regulatory agency attention of the harm that they can cause and the extent to which they are preventable.