ECRI experts present on safe AI in patient care, maternal care hazards, and human factors engineering at ASHRM 2025

Thought leaders from ECRI shared their timely expertise at the 2025 American Society for Health Care Risk Management (ASHRM) Annual Conference in September 28-30, presenting sessions on artificial intelligence and the application of human factors engineering. ECRI also supported collaborative work with hospital leaders focused on improving maternal outcomes.

Across these sessions, ECRI experts encouraged healthcare leaders to think differently – and proactively – about risk by strengthening guardrails around the use of AI, embedding human factors engineering into system design and clinical workflows, and translating safety data into action plans.

Confronting AI Risks in Healthcare

Scott Lucas, PhD, PE, ECRI Vice President of Device Safety, helped lead a workshop that explored how and why emerging health information technologies may present unique challenges in medical liability settings. Panelists conducted an interactive mock deposition centered around fictitious adverse events, including ambient scribing, AI based monitoring, and automated forms of EHR documentation. Lucas helped lead discussion about AI governance, organizational liability, and human-in-the-loop workflows. The session highlighted the urgent need for healthcare leaders to strengthen risk strategies before new technologies outpace existing safeguards.

Visit ECRI’s AI Hub for free resources to use AI safely and effectively.

Applying Human Factors to Drive Safer Care

In a hands-on workshop, Vicki Lewis, PhD, ECRI’s Senior Manager of Human Factors Engineering (HFE), demonstrated how HFE can reveal hidden contributors to harm, uncover effective solutions, and improve system resilience. Through the analysis of three real-world adverse events, Lewis emphasized practical ways risk managers and clinicians can integrate systems thinking into daily practice. Attendees learned that:

• Utilizing an HFE approach can help staff identify systems challenges and contribute to safer care.
• Conducting heuristic evaluations can expose potential hazards and usability concerns with medical devices.
• Rigorous usability evaluations of medical devices prior to purchase can help ensure they fit workflows and will not disrupt care processes.

Watch this video to learn about how human factors engineering can influence workflows, system design, and patient care.

Strengthening Maternal Safety Using PSO Insights

Rhonda Filipp, RN, MPA, CPHQ, ECRI Patient Safety Advisor, facilitated a working session before the ASHRM conference with 13 hospital members of the ECRI and ISMP Patient Safety Organization (PSO). Filipp reviewed PSO-submitted data and shared targeted recommendations drawn from ECRI’s PSO Safety Sprint on maternal health, sparking dialogue on challenges and progress on safety.

Read more about the PSO data snapshot on maternal care produced from that safety sprint.