ECRI Institute's latest technology list for what C-Suite-level executives should be paying attention to this year reflects the ongoing impact of health care reform and new technology developments, which for the most part, are focused on decreasing costs and increasing quality patient care.

"Hospital leaders should ask if new technology or procedures really improve patient care and make it a less costly patient-care experience," said Robert Maliff, director of applied solutions at ECRI Institute.

According to a statement from ECRI Institute, some of the technologies represent significant capital investments, such as PET/MR. Others, including mobile health, metabolic surgery, and low-dose computed tomography lung screening, may greatly affect operations and care patterns.

Technology issues on this year's list include:

1. Electronic Health Records
2. Mobile Health
3. Alarm Integration Technology
4. Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery (i.e TAVI)
5. Imaging and Surgery
6. PET/MR
7. Bariatric Surgery
8. Supply Chain (Will MR-compatible pacemakers explode your supply expenses?)
9. Radiation Dose Safety
10. Lung Cancer Screenings (Enough lung capacity to get in the race?)

Concerns around EHRs also topped ECRI Institute's list last year. Other similarities with 2012 include minimally invasive surgical advancements and reducing radiation dose.

The full document can be found here.