Accreditation

Part 1: ECRI's top tech hazards list 2018

Briefings on Accreditation and Quality, April 1, 2018

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Taking a look at the top healthcare technology hazards of 2018

The ECRI Institute published its annual list of the top 10 health technology hazards for the industry. Readers will note that several of the top hazards in 2018 are the same as those in 2017. To guide readers through the hazards, BOAQ spoke to several experts about each hazard and how to prevent them. Part two, featuring hazards 1–5, will be published in the May issue.

10. Slow adoption of safer enteral feeding connectors

Summary: There have been cases where enteral feeding tubes have been accidentally hooked up to the wrong patient line. ECRI notes of at least two fatalities when nutrients meant for the stomach have instead been injected into patients’ blood and lungs.

Solution: There’s a newly available, standards-based connector design for enteral feeding systems, called ENFit. These connectors don’t fit with any other patient lines, meaning there’s no way to connect the wrong tube to the wrong port.

ECRI notes adoption of ENFit has been slow, with facilities worrying about the availability of components bearing the new connectors. However, the situation has improved and a successful transition is now possible, ECRI says. The organization and others recommend that healthcare organizations transition to ENFit connectors as soon as possible.

Resources:

9. Flaws in medical device networking

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