February 25, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. ET

Overview

ECRI’s Clinical Evidence Assessment service evaluates published clinical literature to determine the effectiveness and safety of healthcare interventions and treatments. These unbiased reports guide healthcare providers in evidence-based practice, clinical quality improvement, and patient safety initiatives. By combining the best available evidence with clinician expertise and patient preferences, this approach helps providers make informed decisions for better patient care. ECRI’s independent analysis of over 2,500 healthcare interventions and practices drives improvements in clinical quality and safety, addressing challenges such as readmission rates, adverse events, and quality of life.

Through these assessments, clinicians can optimize treatment decisions, select the most effective interventions, and improve patient outcomes while enhancing safety within their healthcare systems.

Join our experts as they compare the scope, aim, and limitations of our curated literature searches to systematic evidence reviews; describe the three core information types they summarize; and demonstrate how they inform clinical decision-making and identify evidence gaps.

Learning Objectives

During this webinar, we will:

1. Contrast the scope, aim, and limitations of curated literature searches and systematic evidence reviews.
2. Describe the three core information types provided by curated literature searches.
3. Demonstrate how curated literature searches and evidence analyses inform clinical decision-making and identify evidence gaps.

Continuing Education

This activity has been approved for up to 1.0 California State Nursing contact hour by the provider, Debora Simmons, who is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 13677.

This activity meets the criteria of the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety for up to 1.0 CPPS CE hour.

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Speakers

Evan LeGault

Director, Clinical Evidence, ECRI 

Evan LeGault is the Director of ECRI’s Clinical Evidence services. He joined ECRI in 2001 and oversees all clinical evidence activities at ECRI, including our AHRQ-designated Evidence-based Practice Center, evidence consulting services, Clinical Evidence Assessment membership, and ECRI Guidelines Trust.

 

 

Savvas Pavlides, PhD

Senior Scientific Quality Manager, Clinical Evidence, ECRI

Savvas Pavlides is senior manager of scientific quality for Clinical Evidence Assessment and Genetic Test Assessment. He joined ECRI in 2014 and is part of a large analyst team producing clinical evidence assessments on diverse health technology topics, many of which are driven by the needs of current ECRI members. Savvas’s background includes cell and molecular biology, as well as high throughput proteomics. Prior to ECRI, Savvas was a research scientist at New York University Cancer Center.

 

Courtney Caligiuri, MPAS, PA-C

Research Analyst, Clinical Evidence, ECRI

Courtney Caligiuri has a background as a certified physician assistant. Prior to joining ECRI, she worked as an orthopedic surgery physician assistant for four years, where she was the first assist in various orthopedic surgeries (joint replacement; open reduction, internal fixation of fractures; arthroscopic sports medicine procedures). While obtaining her Master of Physician Assistant Studies, she rotated through clinical externships in various fields of medicine (family practice, pediatrics, general surgery, behavioral health, emergency medicine, internal medicine, women’s health). At ECRI, Courtney has applied her medical background to producing over 200 curated literature searches and clinical evidence assessment reports in 2021. 

 

Alfredo Penzo-Mendez, PhD

Scientific Quality Manager, Clinical Evidence, ECRI

Alfredo Penzo-Mendez is a Senior Research Analyst and Scientific Quality Manager with a background in molecular and cellular biology; he holds a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology. For the past eight years, Dr. Penzo-Mendez has contributed to ECRI’s mission by conducting clinical evidence assessments in the form of both rapid and systematic reviews according to PRISMA recommendations and GRADE methodology, as well as by presenting this work in the form of webinars, blogs, position papers, and evidence reports. As a Senior Research Analyst, Dr. Penzo-Mendez is responsible for ensuring the rigor and accuracy of ECRI’s Custom Clinical Research Responses; he also contributes to the ongoing development and update of ECRI’s rapid evidence review products. Dr. Penzo-Mendez serves as internal consultant for ECRI’s Task Force on Current Topics and Trends in Healthcare, helping identify opportunities to support ECRI members by leveraging clinical evidence. He also routinely reviews ECRI’s evidence reviews of patient safety topics, best practices, and evidence-based strategies. Dr. Penzo-Mendez's experience prior to joining ECRI includes 15 years of academic research in developmental biology and cancer research. 

 

Heather Pejic, MPH 

Research Analyst, Clinical Evidence, ECRI

Heather Pejic is a research analyst with a background in epidemiology, maternal and fetal health, type 1 diabetes, emergency medicine, oncology, and global health research. She began her research career as an intern stationed in Rwanda for the NGO Life for a Child, where she assisted the Rwanda Diabetes Association with clinical visits across the country and researched the demographic predictors of mortality in youth with type 1 diabetes. She was also the lead of recruitment and project management for labor and delivery trials at Pittsburgh’s Magee Women’s Hospital and served as the clinical liaison between participants, clinical staff, and study investigators. She also served as a research specialist, mentor, and clinical data scientist for the General Surgery, Trauma, and Oncology departments at the University of Pittsburgh, during which she coauthored 14 peer-reviewed surgical and trauma research articles. She was also the director of the PitSORCE Statistical Core, which provided statistical support to surgeons at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh. At ECRI, she has worked on over 100 curated literature searches, product-specific evidence assessments, and technology class evidence assessments on a vast array of health technology devices.

 

Mary C. Magee, MSN, RN, CPHQ, CPPS

Patient Safety Advisor, ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices PSO

In her current role, Mary Magee provides targeted patient safety solutions to member organizations; reviews and analyzes adverse event reports; and uses the information to develop written material, continuing education programs, webinars, and presentations to inform and educate healthcare facilities about quality improvement and patient safety issues. She is a Team STEPPS and Just Culture Master Trainer.
Prior to joining ECRI, Mary was Senior Director of Patient Safety, Quality, and Regulatory Affairs for a large multihospital health system. She has extensive experience in all aspects of patient safety and quality management, including instituting and maintaining accreditation and regulatory preparedness, as well as leading multiple successful routine and for-cause CMS, Department of Health, and Joint Commission surveys.