Article Text
Abstract
Aim This report considers the introduction of new technology and the implications for patient safety.
Methods and discussion A distinction is made between ‘conceptually’ new and ‘contextually’ new technology. The life cycle of technology from development to routine use is discussed and the key role for regulation, health technology assessment, clinical engineering and surveillance in this life cycle considered. The limitations of each of these disciplines are also discussed. Special consideration is given to the needs of developing countries. Case study examples of particular challenges in the safe introduction of technology are presented.
- Patient safety
- devices
- appropriate technology
- regulation
- health technology assessment
- medical error
- risk management
- training
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ and http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode.
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Footnotes
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Funding The project was funded by WHO Patient Safety.
Competing interests None.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
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