PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA-As cell phones and other wireless devices become ever-present in healthcare environments, ECRI Institute (www.ecri.org), an independent nonprofit that researches best approaches to improving patient care, encourages hospitals to review the impact of current and emerging wireless technologies on their facilities. In an upcoming ECRI Institute Web conference, expert speakers will provide insight on managing wireless technology-including cell phones and other communication devices, as well as wireless networks and systems-through careful assessment, policy considerations, and staff training.

Information technology specialists, clinical staff, patient safety officers, biomedical engineers, risk managers, and other healthcare professionals can benefit from attending this latest Web conference in ECRI Institute's Roadmap to Patient Safety series. "Managing the Wireless Infrastructure in Today's Hospital" will take place on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. EST. Expert speakers will discuss:

* The risks of using cell phones and other wireless communication devices in healthcare settings, with recommendations for practical safe-use policies

* The impact of new and emerging technologies on existing wireless networks and systems
* Best practices for performing wireless architectural surveys and managing the ever-growing inventory of wireless devices and their associated transmission frequencies
* Steps that can be taken to deliver reliable and secure wireless network performance to ensure availability and integrity of critical information

Conference speakers include James Keller, M.S., Moderator, Vice President, Health Technology Evaluation and Safety, ECRI Institute; Richard Diefes, M.S., Associate Director, Health Devices System, ECRI Institute; Rick Hampton, Wireless Communication Manager, Partners Healthcare, and Donald Witters, M.S., Physicist/Biomedical Engineer, Chairman of the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Group, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration.

The registration fee is $199 per facility, and $139 for members of ECRI Institute's Health Devices System, Health Devices Gold, SELECTplusTM, or Healthcare Risk Control System. The deadline for registration is Friday, November 9, 2007.

Conference recordings and course materials for "Managing the Wireless Infrastructure in Today's Hospital" will be available for sale as a CD-ROM toolkit or audio-only CD-ROM. Recordings with conference materials are also available for purchase from ECRI Institute's previous audio conferences, "CT Radiation Dosing: Guarding Patients from Unnecessary Risk" (May 2007), "Tubing Misconnections: Preventing Serious Patient Safety Risks" (March 2007), "Navigating New Territories: The Convergence of Medical Devices and Information Technology" (November 2006), and "Reprocessing Single-Use Medical Devices-Is It Right for Your Hospital?" (September 2006).

To register for this Web conference, or to order conference recordings and materials from past seminars, visit www.ecri.org/webconference or contact ECRI Institute by telephone at (610) 825-6000, ext. 5891; by -mail at clientservices(at)ecri.org; by fax at (610) 567-1116; or by mail at 5200 Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-1298, USA.

ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization, dedicates itself to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research in healthcare to uncover the best approaches to improving patient care. As pioneers in this science for nearly 40 years, ECRI Institute marries experience and independence with the objectivity of evidence-based research.

More than 5,000 healthcare organizations worldwide rely on ECRI Institute's expertise in patient safety improvement, risk and quality management, healthcare processes, devices, procedures, and drug technology. ECRI Institute is one of only a handful of organizations designated as both a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization and an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. For more information, visit www.ecri.org.

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