Patient safety organization names chatbots the top health care hazard in 2026
Artificial intelligence chatbots used in health care lead this year’s list of the 10 most significant health care technology hazards, published annually by the independent, nonpartisan patient safety organization ECRI.
“Chatbots have suggested incorrect diagnoses, recommended unnecessary testing, promoted subpar medical supplies, and even invented body parts in response to medical questions while sounding like a trusted expert,” ECRI reported. The organization also noted that chatbots can exacerbate health disparities as they reflect the knowledge and beliefs, including biases, on which they are trained.
In an effort to use chatbots wisely, the ECRI top 10 report recommends that health systems establish AI governance committees, provide clinicians with AI training, and regularly audit the performance of AI tools. Patients, clinicians, and other chatbot users should educate themselves on the limitations of chatbots and verify information obtained from such tools with a knowledgeable source.
Among ECRI’s other top 10 health technology hazards are unpreparedness for a digital darkness event or a sudden loss of access to electronic systems and, thereby, patient information; cybersecurity risks from legacy medical devices; and health technology implementations that prompt unsafe clinical workflows.
ECRI selects issues to highlight in its annual top 10 hazards report by drawing insight from incident investigations, reporting databases, and independent medical device testing.
An executive brief of the “Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2026” is available for download at www.ecri.org.
Digital pathology solution from Proscia receives Best in KLAS honors
The medical software company Proscia has been named Global 2026 Best in KLAS for Digital Pathology: Europe, by KLAS Research.
Proscia received the honor, which recognizes vendors and solutions based on customer feedback, for its Concentriq enterprise platform. One hundred percent of the health care providers that use Concentriq and were interviewed by KLAS reported that they would purchase the product again.
KLAS Research bases Best in KLAS rankings on six aspects of customer experience: product, operations, loyalty, relationship, value, and culture. Each year, KLAS gathers input from thousands of health care providers and payers worldwide to determine winners across numerous categories.
“Proscia’s customers scored Concentriq highly with KLAS for primary diagnosis, highlighting ease of use, quality, and high-impact product releases,” Proscia posted on its website.
Concentriq is an open platform that integrates with more than 15 laboratory information system solutions, including Epic Beaker.
Proscia, 215-608-5411
Tampa General Hospital opens innovation center
Tampa General Hospital, which has been featured in Newsweek’s list of the world’s best smart hospitals for the past three years, opened a 32,000-square-foot innovation center last month.
The TGH Innovation Center, located in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, will house the six-hospital health system’s TGH Ventures corporate venture capital arm and innovation team and the offices of the Tampa Medical and Research District. It too will serve as a hub for the Denver-based data analytics software firm Palantir Technologies, with which the hospital partners.
Among the center’s offerings are IdeaHQ, a platform and physical space for crowdsourcing employee ideas; a hospital room of the future, which serves as a simulated environment for testing and demonstrating technologies intended to improve clinical workflows and patient care; production studios for recording podcasts and creating other content; and event space for promoting collaboration and hosting members of the health care industry.
Technidata and Ascentry continue partnership
Ascentry, which formerly operated under the name BYG4lab, and Technidata recently announced that they have renewed the strategic partnership they initially forged in 2020.
“By combining Technidata’s LIS experience and Ascentry’s know-how in middleware, the two companies aim to assist laboratories with their digital transformation projects by offering innovative, interconnected solutions,” according to a Technidata press release.
Both companies have offices in France and the United States and offer their products in numerous locations worldwide.
Technidata, 855-550-5705