Milestones marked by ECRI in advancing safe, quality healthcare across the U.S.

Now serving all 50 states and clinics that care for 32 million Americans a year

ECRI advances patient safety nationwide – now in all 50 states in the U.S. – through its Patient Safety Organization (PSO) and by providing resources to federally qualified health centers and free clinics across the U.S.

With the latest addition of a health system in Hawaii, the ECRI and ISMP PSO now serves healthcare organizations in all 50 states. ECRI’s PSO is one of the nation’s largest, and the only one that’s also an Evidence-based Practice Center. ECRI has accumulated one of the largest datasets of its kind with more than 8 million safety events submitted by acute, non-acute, ambulatory, and aging healthcare providers nationwide. The PSO’s reach also extends beyond the continental U.S., serving organizations in Puerto Rico and Guam.

Further extending ECRI’s nationwide reach, the more than 1,400 federally qualified community health centers and free clinics in the U.S. tap into ECRI resources, education, and safety tools. These health centers and clinics serve some of the nation’s most vulnerable patients, many located in remote areas. More than 32 million Americans turned to these clinics in 2024, most of whom are uninsured or receive Medicare or Medicaid, including millions of children, families, older adults, veterans, and people experiencing homelessness. One out of every five Americans in rural areas turn to these centers for medical care.

“We are energized by the growth in our national learning network, both through the PSO and in the thousands of community health center personnel that utilize our resources daily. These teams are on the frontlines providing critical medical care, often in the face of significant obstacles,” said Dheerendra Kommala, MD, Chief Medical Officer at ECRI. “We are committed to equipping them with the data, clinical evidence, and best practices that give them confidence in care delivery. Through system-design, human factors engineering, and embracing a just safety culture, we can make measurable, sustained progress in reducing preventable harm for all Americans.”

ECRI has implemented a systems-based safety model that helps hospitals and healthcare facilities save lives and improve operational efficiency, with notable outcomes:

• Uncovered vulnerabilities in medication use in a children’s hospital and improved medication reconciliation compliance to consistently remain above 94%
• Revolutionized a sepsis management system for a multi-state health system, saving an estimated 700 lives plus approximately $30 million from reduced hospital stays, improved treatment protocols, and improved efficiency
• Transformed the root cause analysis (RCA) process in a Texas-based health system through Enterprise Safety Management to provide deeper insights and a stronger culture of safety
• Reduced heparin administration errors in a multi-state nonprofit health system following a complete analysis by ECRI’s human factors engineers
• Redesigned a health system’s workflow to solve hazardous bottlenecks in CT scan turnaround times caused 25 system-related challenges ECRI uncovered
• Provided technical and programmatic remediations in response to thousands of patient incidents
• Additional ECRI case studies calculate cost-savings from proactive safety measures

ECRI’s services to its PSO members and to the federally qualified community health centers and free clinics in the U.S. include one-on-one consultation, evidence-based insights on a range of topics, accredited continuing education, and resources designed to reduce risk and improve patient safety.

Looking ahead to the first half of 2026, ECRI will continue to build on this momentum by:

• Analyzing its national dataset of 8 million adverse events to publish thematic deep dives on recurring safety challenges
• Providing additional risk management insights to federally qualified health centers
• Launching the annual Top Ten Patient Safety Concerns report complete with risk mitigation strategies
• Leading congressional briefings on patient safety on Capitol Hill
• Kicking off an expert-led national collaborative network on infection prevention
• Convening additional roundtables with C-suite healthcare leaders to showcase strategies that revolutionize safety systems – and several other safety initiatives. 

Sign up to stay informed on the latest insights in healthcare safety and quality.

Contact: Yvonne Rhodes, Director of Strategic Communications & Operations, YRhodes@ECRI.org