Ask the expert: How should we decide whether to adopt a new clinical technology?

When attempting to determine whether to grant a physician’s request for new-technology privileges, the hospital must first evaluate whether this new technology fits within the scope of the institution’s mission. The hospital must decide whether it is willing to spend the money on a technology for a service it does not already offer. To determine whether the investment is worthwhile, medical staff leadership must ask the following questions:

• What are the hospital’s strategic clinical areas? That is, which areas (e.g., specific surgeries, obstetrics, neurological services, etc.) does the hospital see as its core clinical areas?
• What does the hospital’s current patient population require?
• What are the financial implications in terms of not just adoption (training staff, purchasing new technology, refitting surgical suites, etc.) but also reimbursement?
• What are the implied changes to the clinical process (e.g., shorter hospital stays, etc.)?
• Which physician group will perform the procedure and how will these physicians be trained and credentialed? Will more than one subspecialty group claim the right to perform the procedure?
• What are the chances that the procedure will become common as an outpatient procedure and move to a competing surgical center or outpatient entity? (Knowing this information up front will prevent surprises when these procedures migrate away from the hospital to entities controlled by physicians.)
• What are the safety implications for the new procedure?
• What are the chances that the new procedure will become the new standard of care?

This week’s question and answer are adapted from Medical Staff Leaders’ Practical Guide, Sixth Edition, by William K. Cors, MD, MMM, FACPE, CMSL; Mary J. Hoppa, MD, MBA, CMSL; and Richard A. Sheff, MD, CMSL. Now available at a discounted price!