First established in 2008 as separate PSOs, the joint ECRI and the ISMP PSO now works collaboratively with more than 1,400 healthcare organizations across a breadth of care settings—from hospitals, health systems, and physician practices to pharmacies, aging services providers, and ambulatory surgery centers—to assess where gaps may exist within their current organizational structures. The PSO team analyzes its robust database of more than five million event reports related to patient safety, infection, and medical devices. ECRI and ISMP’s multidisciplinary team of clinicians, engineers, and medication safety and human factors experts analyzes and compares the data, customizes safety plans, and follows through with clients to ensure programs are implemented and monitored.


About ECRI

ECRI is an independent, nonprofit organization improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care across all healthcare settings. With a focus on technology evaluation and safety, ECRI is respected and trusted by healthcare leaders and agencies worldwide.

For more than fifty years, ECRI has built its reputation on integrity and disciplined rigor, with an unwavering commitment to independence and strict conflict-of-interest rules. ECRI is the only organization worldwide to conduct independent medical device evaluations, with labs located in North America and Asia Pacific. ECRI is designated an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices PSO is a federally certified Patient Safety Organization as designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) formally became an ECRI Affiliate in 2020.

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