ECRI Institute, ISMP to Combine Efforts

ECRI Institute and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) have signed an agreement to join forces and create a single patient safety entity.

The transaction, which is expected to close on January 2, will see ISMP become a subsidiary of ECRI Institute. Both are nonprofit organizations that promote patient safety by highlighting adverse effects, near misses, and unsafe conditions in various healthcare settings. ECRI Institute publishes data and recommendations to protect patients from unsafe practices and ineffective products, while ISMP has advocated for improvements in drug labeling, packaging, preparation, and administration.

“This agreement will strengthen our critical contributions to medication safety,” said ISMP President Michael Cohen, RPh, MS, ScD (hon.), DPS (hon.), FASHP, in a release. “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.”

ISMP will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ECRI Institute. Cohen and ISMP Executive Vice President Allen J. Vaida, PharmD, FASHP, will continue to oversee ISMP, working closely with ECRI Institute leadership. ECRI Institute President and CEO Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, will immediately join ISMP’s board of trustees, along with two other ECRI Institute officials.

“Two trusted organizations deeply committed to improving the safety of medical treatments are even more effective when they work together,” said Schabacker in the release. “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.”