ECRI Institute

ECRI Institute's Headquarters in Plymouth Meeting, PA
ECRI Institute
Founded 1968
Founder Joel J. Nobel
Type Healthcare
Focus Healthcare Research
Location
  • Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 President and CEO: Jeffrey C. Lerner, Ph.D.; Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer: Anthony J. Montagnolo, M.S.; Executive Vice President and General Counsel: Ronni P. Solomon, J.D.
Employees
 Nearly 450
Slogan ECRI Institute is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to benefit patient care by promoting the highest standards of safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness in healthcare.
Website www.ecri.org

ECRI Institute (formerly the "Emergency Care Research Institute") is an independent nonprofit organization that researches the best approaches to improving patient care.

In the early 1960s, Joel J. Nobel founded ECRI Institute [1] after a four-year-old boy died in his arms from a defibrillator failing to work. He focused his energy on improving resuscitation technology and organization, which led to ECRI Institute being founded. Joel also invented the MAX Cart,[2] a mobile resuscitation system designed to save lives by enabling rapid medical action. The cart carries instruments for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other medical supplies while also functioning as a support litter for a patient. A prototype of the MAX medical emergency crash cart has been accepted into the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Medicine and Science Division, as part of its historical collection of cardiology and emergency-medicine objects. Nobel, a surgeon and inventor, designed and patented MAX in 1965 while a resident at Pennsylvania Hospital, in order to speed the delivery of life-saving emergency cardiopulmonary care to patients. Life magazine profiled the invention in a 1966 feature called "MAX, the Lifesaver." In 2001, Dr. Jeffrey C. Lerner became ECRI Institute’s second President and Chief Executive Officer.

ECRI Institute is an international organization with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia. ECRI Institute’s headquarters is located in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania on a 12-acre research campus that features a modern 120,000-square-foot facility with offices, instrumented laboratories, and a medical library. ECRI Institute has nearly 450 full-time employees whose interdisciplinary backgrounds include medicine, nursing, epidemiology, biomedical science, research methodology, social science, clinical engineering, physics, health law, healthcare management, patient safety and risk management, information technology, medical informatics, clinical writing and editing, and many other areas.

The organization serves over 5,000 healthcare organizations worldwide, including hospitals, health systems, public and private payers, U.S. federal and state government agencies, ministries of health, voluntary sector organizations, associations, and accrediting agencies. With these groups, ECRI Institute shares its experience in patient safety improvement, comparative effectiveness, risk and quality management, evidence-based practice, healthcare processes, devices, procedures, and drug technology.

ECRI Institute employs strict rules to prevent conflict of interest, by not accepting gifts, grants, or contracts from the medical device or pharmaceutical industries.

ECRI Institute has been undertaking brand and model comparative evaluations of medical devices since 1971. Since its designation as an Evidence-based Practice Center by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 1997, it has undertaken systematic reviews of clinical procedures using metaanalysis for the Medicare program, other federal and state agencies and clinical specialty organizations.

Mission

ECRI Institute’s organizational mission is to benefit patient care by promoting the highest standards of safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness in healthcare. We accomplish this through our research, publishing, education, and consultation.

Designations

Services

ECRI Institute provides healthcare information, research, publishing, education and consultation services including:

Evidence Based Medicine
Comprehensive technology assessment membership program, online resources, and onsite custom consulting.
Patient Safety and Quality
Membership programs and other resources to help improve patient safety, ensure quality, and manage enterprise-wide risks.
Technology Decision Making
A range of services to help hospitals and healthcare systems manage health technology effectively.

The organization is responsible for performing the technical work of developing and maintaining AHRQ's support for National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC), a database of clinical practice guidelines, and the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse (NQMC),[4] a database of evidence-based healthcare quality measures. Both medical informatics tools support users' efforts to integrate evidence-based practices into healthcare decisions.

Free Resources

Alarms
The Joint Commission has made alarm management a 2014 National Patient Safety Goal. ECRI Institute’s alarm reviews and guidance are cited in The Joint Commission's recommendations. Their alarm safety resource site provides guidance and tools to help healthcare facilities improve alarm safety. ECRI Institute has listed alarms on its Top Ten Hazards List since 2007; in 2015 alarm hazards was listed as the number one hazard.
Bulimia Nervosa Resource Guide
The Bulimia Nervosa Resource Guide is a resource on bulimia nervosa for anyone who wants to understand the disorder and how to support a family member or friend with bulimia nervosa.
Ebola
ECRI Institute's Ebola-related resources helps the U.S. healthcare community prepare for a potential Ebola outbreak and helps all healthcare professionals worldwide deal with this disease. These resources focus on pricing and procurement, technology management, risk management, and patient safety. The Ebola PPE Price Index helps hospitals and healthcare organizations make more timely and cost-effective purchasing decisions of personal protective equipment.
Homecare Patient Resources
The Healthcare Technology Foundation (HTF) and ECRI Institute have free safety pamphlets for homecare patients.
National Patient Library
ECRI Institute's National Patient Library contains evidence-based information for patients. The site also includes links to our free patient reference guides and compiled outside resources and articles.
Superbug Outbreak Resources
ECRI Institute's CRE and Duodenoscope Resource Center contains guidance on reprocessing of ERCP endoscopes linked to the superbug outbreak. The site focuses on technology management, risk management, and patient safety.
Top Ten Health Technology Hazards Report
Since 2007, ECRI Institute has published a top ten hazards list that raises awareness of the potential dangers associated with the use of medical devices. The list aims to help healthcare providers minimize the risk of technology-related adverse events. ECRI Institute collaborates with member scientists, nurses, physicians, and patient safety analysts draw to help influence the direction and focus of each year’s hazards. The list has been publicized in FierceHealthIT,[5] Health Leaders Media,[5] DotMed,[5] Modern Healthcare,[5] TechNation,[5] and iHealthBeat,.[5]
Top 10 Technology Watch List for the Hospital C-Suite
Since 2009, ECRI Institute has published a hospital c-suite reference guide on upcoming noteworthy health technologies or health systems issues. The list is an overview on emerging technologies that helps hospital leaders improve capital planning efforts. Topics covered include computer-assisted sedation, emergency departments for the elderly, magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound, and intelligent pills.

Blog

ECRI Institute is committed to providing patients and providers in healthcare related fields with valuable and actionable information to ensure quality of care. ECRI Institute offered a blog (2010-2014) with posts containing valuable healthcare related information. Topics included: the aging population, smart phones for alarm management, and hospital noise. These blog posts were based on the data received by ECRI Institute.

Education Outreach

Annual Health Policy Conference
Each year, ECRI Institute organizes an annual health policy conference delineating perspectives of stakeholders throughout the healthcare community in addressing broad issues about the science, evaluation of evidence, and the use of medical technology, pharmaceuticals, procedures, complex patients, and health services. ECRI Institute lists the topics covered each year on their website, which can be found here.[6]
Webinars
Webinars are an outreach method ECRI Institute uses to help guide healthcare facilities into safe practices. During the webinars, ECRI Institute experts share their knowledge and identify best practices and risk reduction methods; an expert guest speaker is sometimes present as well. Webinars offer time for polling sessions and question-and-answer sessions at the end of the webinar. Some highly viewed webinars include covered alarm fatigue, medical device cyber security, and infusion pumps. ECRI Institute can be found on YouTube answering popular questions asked during the hosted webinars.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "ECRI Institute. YouTube. Retrieved 5 March 2014. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWGQwC3pjRo"
  2. ↑ "ECRI Institute. YouTube. Retrieved 5 March 2014. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92Vpc5mFMjA"
  3. ↑ "Evidence-based Practice Centers [website]. Website. Retrieved 27 Feb 2014. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/evidence-based-reports/overview/index.html"
  4. ↑ "National Quality Measures Clearinghouse [website]. Website. Retrieved 20 Feb 2014. http://www.qualitymeasures.ahrq.gov/"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 " FierceHealthIT [article]. [cited 2013 Nov 31]. Alarm Fatigue Tops Health Technology Hazards List"
  6. ↑ "ECRI Institute [website]. [cited 2014 Jan 11]. Plymouth Meeting (PA): ECRI Institute. http://www.ecri.org.org"

External links