ECRI Joins Global Leaders in Supporting World Patient Safety Day 2021

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA—ECRI, the most trusted voice in healthcare, and its affiliate, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), a vital force for preventing medication errors and driving change in medical practice and pharmaceutical products, are proud to join leaders around the globe in celebrating World Patient Safety Day, September 17, 2021.

In support of this year’s theme, Safe Maternal and Newborn Care, ECRI and ISMP developed a World Patient Safety Day 2021 Resource Center with free and shareable patient safety, medication safety, and evidence-based medicine resources to reduce the risks and harm that women and newborns are exposed to due to unsafe care.

“We invite others to join us in working toward safer, more affordable, equitable, and accessible care for mothers and babies everywhere,” says ECRI president and CEO Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD. “These resources will help providers and pharmacists across the entire care continuum.”

Approximately 810 women worldwide die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. In addition, around 6,700 newborns die every day, amounting to 47 percent of all under-five deaths. Moreover, about two million babies are stillborn every year, with over 40 percent occurring during labor. In the United States, more women die from childbirth than in any of the 11 other developed counties measured, and access to care varies based on insurance coverage.

“Clearly, more needs to be done to address the systemic racial and socio-economic inequity in the healthcare system to reduce maternal mortality and newborn deaths,” adds Schabacker. ECRI named racial and ethnic health disparities its number one concern on its 2021 Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns list; maternal health was the number two patient safety concern on the 2020 list.

To learn more about ECRI and ISMP’s World Patient Safety Day resources or for information about membership, visit www.ecri.org, or contact ECRI at 610-825-6000 or communications@ecri.org.

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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 patient safety, evidence-based medicine, and health technology decision solutions, ECRI is respected and trusted by healthcare leaders and agencies worldwide.

Over the past 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.

Visit www.ecri.org and follow @ECRI_Org.

About the Institute for Safe Medication Practices

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is the only 501c (3) nonprofit organization devoted entirely to preventing medication errors. ISMP is known and respected as the gold standard for medication safety information. For more than 25 years, it also has served as a vital force for progress. ISMP’s advocacy work alone has resulted in numerous necessary changes in clinical practice, public policy, and drug labeling and packaging. Among its many initiatives, ISMP runs the only national voluntary practitioner medication error reporting program, publishes newsletters with real-time error information read and trusted throughout the global healthcare community, and offers a wide range of unique educational programs, tools, and guidelines.

In 2020, ISMP formally affiliated with ECRI, and ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices PSO is a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As a watchdog organization, ISMP receives no advertising revenue and depends entirely on charitable donations, educational grants, newsletter subscriptions, and volunteer efforts to pursue its life-saving work.

Visit www.ismp.org and follow @ismp_org.

For more information, contact:
Laurie Menyo, Director of Strategic Communications
610.825.6000 ext. 5310
lmenyo@ecri.org