November 13, 2019 PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA—Leaders of ECRI Institute and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) today announced a definitive agreement that bolsters both organizations’ efforts to make medication, medical devices and healthcare practices across care settings safer for patients, now and in the future.

Under the terms of the affiliation agreement, ISMP will be an ECRI Institute subsidiary when the transaction closes, which is expected to occur January 2, 2020. ECRI and ISMP are joining forces to create one of the largest patient safety entities in the world, driving greater value to the healthcare organizations they serve by creating a single source with unrivaled expertise, resources, and solutions.

Both ECRI Institute and ISMP are globally respected, nonprofit organizations that promote patient safety by sharing adverse effects, near misses and unsafe conditions across all healthcare settings, including ones associated with pharmaceutical product and medical device use. Four out of five U.S. hospitals rely on ECRI Institute’s data and recommendations to protect patients from unsafe practices and ineffective products. ISMP’s world-renowned efforts to improve patient safety have prompted significant clinical practice and public policy changes, including improvement in how drugs are labeled, packaged, prepared, and administered.

“This agreement will strengthen our critical contributions to medication safety,” says ISMP President Michael Cohen, RPh, MS, ScD (hon.), DPS (hon.), FASHP. “It allows both organizations to retain their core missions while immediately extending our ability to share lifesaving information and further a vision where safe, high-quality healthcare is more readily available. We look forward to this new chapter.”

Under the terms of the affiliation agreement, ISMP will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ECRI Institute. Cohen and ISMP’s Executive Vice President Allen J. Vaida, PharmD, FASHP, will continue to lead ISMP, working closely with ECRI Institute executives. ECRI Institute President and CEO Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, will immediately join ISMP’s board of trustees, along with two other ECRI Institute leaders.

“Two trusted organizations deeply committed to improving the safety of medical treatments are even more effective when they work together,” says Schabacker. “For both organizations, this agreement furthers the mission, deepens expertise, and broadens relationships. It’s a good move for both of us and for all of the organizations we serve, and ultimately for the patients worldwide. ”

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