ECRI Institute has been designated an Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)—formerly the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR). EPCs produce comprehensive technology assessments and evidence reports on healthcare technologies for public benefit.
ECRI Institute's technology assessments and evidence reports are based on exhaustive searches and analyses of the medical literature. Most assessments employ computerized decision models, cost-effectiveness analyses, meta-analyses or other statistical techniques. A complete list of technology assessments produced by ECRI Institute is available.
AHRQ-designated EPCs perform comprehensive literature searches and assess and synthesize the scientific evidence on healthcare interventions. They produce evidence reports and technology assessments that provide healthcare institutions and systems, provider societies, health plans, public and private purchasers, states, and others with a scientific foundation for development and implementation of their own clinical practice guidelines, clinical pathways, review criteria, performance measures, other clinical quality improvement tools, and for making decisions, such as coverage or reimbursement policies, related to the effectiveness or appropriateness of specific healthcare technologies.
The first technology assessment developed by the ECRI Institute EPC was "Diagnosis and Treatment of Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) in Acute-Care Stroke Patients" (AHCPR Publication No. 99-E024). While focusing on those patients who have oropharyngeal swallowing disorders as sequelae to stroke, this assessment also raises issues relevant to those with Parkinson's disease, scleroderma, or other diseases and conditions. ECRI Institute conducted this assessment at the request of its AHRQ-designated Science Partner, the Health Care Financing Administration. Visit AHRQ's Web site for a detailed summary of the report's findings. The text of the full report will be made available on the Internet from the National Library of Medicine's HSTAT database.
