Weighing the Pros and Cons of Patient Safety Technology

Although some emerging technology promises a patient safety cure-all, hospitals need to evaluate clinician workflow before implementing new gadgets

In the 21st century, technology offers a solution to just about any everyday problem. Don’t know that actor that just came onto your screen? Log onto the IMDB app. Need directions? Just type the address into your phone.

Healthcare is no different. Emerging technologies promise to solve the industry’s biggest patient safety concerns, and sometimes they actually do, but not always. In some cases, healthcare technology can simplify complicated processes and improve care. In other situations, it can have negative consequences, particularly if hospitals fail to consider the technology’s impact on workflow.

Just like the technology we encounter in everyday life, healthcare technology can be beneficial, but only when it is appropriately integrated into the system in which it is used. Unfortunately, in their rush to purchase cutting-edge gadgets, hospitals often neglect this step.

“Workflow needs to be assessed and made more efficient, and if possible, standardized so that when you introduce the new technology, you’re not introducing something new into a bad process,” says Mary Logan, president and CEO of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) in Arlington, Virginia. “You’re really looking at your process and making sure technology fits in with that, so it’s an opportunity to improve. Hospitals historically haven’t done that, but they need to.”

This is an excerpt from the May issue of Patient Safety Monitor. Subscribers can read the rest of the article here. Non-subscribers can find out more about the journal, its benefits, and how to subscribe by clicking here.