Risk management and patient safety professionals are facing more pressure and new strains on already taxed resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. As hospitals and healthcare systems actively respond, these leaders are tasked with ensuring the safety of patients, residents, and staff as shortages of life-saving medical technology, including ventilators, and personal protective equipment (PPE) abound. They must take an enterprise risk management approach to ensure protection of the organizations' financial, human, and infrastructure resources. As the virus’ rapid spread continues and more staff are infected, the pressure to do more with less only intensifies.
ECRI brings together technology and safety expertise to support your initiatives. The depth and breadth of our medical technology experience enables us to provide guidance for your device challenges. Our expert research and advice address a wide range of risk factors—including the emergency preparedness and infection prevention guidance and tools that we are offering below for free public access. Additional comprehensive content is available on our membership websites. Please contact us to learn more.
High-Priority ECRI Alerts
- Sterilization Wrap Supply Shortages May Affect Reprocessing Workflows and Delay Patient Care
- ECRI Statement on Equitable Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccine
- Sterile Pairs Exam Gloves: May Be Contaminated with Unknown Substance
- Decontamination of N95 Respirators: UV Light May Be Considered for Limited Reuse Situations
- Recommendations for Reprocessing Flexible Endoscopes Used on COVID-19 Patients
- Use of Automatic Chemical Disinfection Systems May Lead to Chemical Exposure and Equipment Damage
Key resources for risk management
- Your Questions Answered: Get answers to your frequently asked questions for COVID-19 relating to clinical, infection prevention, patient safety, and supply chain concerns.
- COVID-19: The Mental Health Effects in Aging Care: Join leadership from ECRI and LeadingAge PA as they discuss how to prevent the harmful side-effects such as depression which can result from prolonged isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Coronavirus Support Product Equivalents: Best matches for the three most popular air clearance units, breathing circuits, disinfecting wipes, HME filters, IV solutions, and universal transfer media. Proprietary database includes manufacturer name, catalog number, percentage match, median price, and KPI details.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Supply Equivalents: Best matches for the three most popular exam gloves, disinfecting wipes, face shields, isolation gowns, IV solutions, N95 air purifying respirators, shoe covers, surgical masks, and universal transport medium based on key performance indicators (KPIs) and functional equivalence. Proprietary database includes manufacturer name, catalog number, percentage match, median price, and KPI details.
- COVID-19 Lab Webcast | N95 Respirators-New Guidance for Addressing Shortages: View the recording of our April 15, 2020, live-streamed lab webcast, for updated recommendations from ECRI experts on new CDC recommendations, expanded decontamination options—Sterrad and Battelle, and importing of equivalent N95 masks.
- COVID-19 Lab Webcast | Infusion Therapy-Conserving Supplies in the Age of COVID-19: View a recording of our April 8, 2020, live-streamed lab webcast, where ECRI and ISMP experts discussed how to manage infusion therapies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- COVID-19 Lab Webcast | Using Anesthesia Units for Patient Ventilators: View a recording of our April 7, 2020, live-streamed lab webcast, to understand how anesthesia units can be used for ICU ventilation with planning, how you should prepare to utilize anesthesia units for ICU ventilation, including sources and supplies, and where to find detailed guidance.
- COVID-19 Lab Webcast | Strategies to Mitigate Ventilator Shortages: This recording of our April 1, 2020, live-streamed lab tour, provides an understanding of how to strategize ventilator deployment when supplies are short, how and when to split one ventilator to treat two patients, and how to ensure that a ventilator is safe to use.
- COVID-19 Lab Webcast | Safe Respirator Usage When Supplies Are Short: This recording of our March 25, 2020, live-streamed lab tour, features recommendations from ECRI experts on how to use N95 respirators safely when normal procedures are challenging due to shortages.
- Clinical Evidence Assessment | Infrared Temperature Screening to Identify Potentially Infected Staff or Visitors Presenting to Healthcare Facilities during Infectious Disease Outbreaks: ECRI’s evidence review indicates Infrared Temperature screening is ineffective for detecting infected persons. Using this approach to reduce infection risk from visitors and staff could provide a false sense of safety.
- Clinical Evidence Assessment | Infection Risk from Scrubs Worn Outside Patient Care Settings: This report focuses on assessing evidence to determine whether wearing scrubs outside patient care settings and returning to the care setting increases the risk of transmitting infections.
- Webinar Recording | Combating COVID-19 Together: This webinar is design to assist healthcare professionals assess their preparedness in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Disinfectant Concentrations and Contact Times for EPA's List of Products Effective against Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the Cause of COVID-19: This table lists disinfectant concentrations and contact times for EPA's List N, which covers antimicrobial products effective against novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. This will help you ensure you're using an effective disinfectant at a sufficient concentration and contact time to kill SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19.
Resources for healthcare professionals
Our free resources include emergency preparedness and infection control guidelines, checklists, and tools; supply chain resources, and guidance for aging care facilities. Additional resources and services are available through ECRI’s membership programs. Contact us today to learn more.
* All material in this COVID-19 Resource Center, https://www.ecri.org/coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak-preparedness-center/, is protected by copyright, and all rights are reserved under international and Pan-American copyright conventions. However, in light of current circumstances, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ECRI will permit the ECRI content accessible from this COVID-19 Resource Center to be reproduced and shared, in whole or in part, for non-commercial purposes only. If you desire to reproduce or share content from third-party sources cited within this Center, you must first seek approval from that third-party source.