Health Technology Excellence Award Winners Circle

The Health Technology Excellence Award is presented each year to an ECRI member institution that has demonstrated an outstanding initiative that improves patient safety, reduces costs, or otherwise facilitates better strategic management of health technology. For more information about how the winners are determined or how to apply for consideration, visit the award rules page.

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2024 Award Winner

Clinica Imbanaco, Cali, Colombia

Clinica Imbanaco’s Award-Winning, Multiyear Effort to Strengthen the Health Technology Management Function

Clinica Imbanaco implemented multiple initiatives over the past several years to expand the capabilities and upgrade the quality of its health technology management function, positioning itself as a pioneer in the region. These efforts included:

Focusing on proactive, rather than corrective, medical device maintenance. This involved identifying and classifying device-related risks, the probability of failure, and the potential impact of a failure; training device users on the safe use of devices; and adhering to a robust preventive maintenance program.

Establishing an International Electrotechnical Commission/International Organization for Standardization (ISO/IEC)-accredited metrology laboratory for in-house medical equipment calibration. In Colombia, external calibration services are expensive and have availability, timeliness, and quality issues. Clinica Imbanaco in-house service provides timely, accurate calibration that promotes clinician confidence in the measurements provided by sphygmomanometers, scales, thermometers, and other devices.

Using an evidence-based technology selection process to assess the value of implementing an intracranial and extracranial surgery system for treating cancer patients. A multidisciplinary technology assessment team was formed to establish selection criteria, evaluate the alternatives, and make an evidence-based selection decision.

Establishing a clinical alarm management program. Efforts included assessing clinical workflows, adopting a patient assessment process to facilitate early detection of patient decompensation, and upgrading medical technologies and alarm communications systems.