ECRI-Penn Medicine Evidence-based Practice Center
Provide systematic literature review to promote dissemination of research evidence to improve healthcare practices
ECRI was among the initial EPCs due to our broad expertise in research methods
In 1997, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) launched the Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) Program to promote evidence-based practice in everyday care. EPCs develop evidence-based reports and technology assessments about topics relevant to clinical and other health care organization and delivery issues—specifically those that are common, expensive, and/or significant for the Medicare and Medicaid populations.
Our work helps stakeholders make sense of vast quantities of healthcare technologies, as well as clinical and healthcare research published annually. By turning research findings into actionable insights, EPCs serve stakeholders and help shape healthcare policy and clinical practice.
In 2012, the ECRI EPC joined with Penn Medicine to form the ECRI-Penn Medicine EPC. This partnership was one of nine EPCs awarded a five-year contract in 2014 to further support AHRQ as it continues its scientific research dissemination efforts. Our EPC goal is twofold:
- To work with clinicians, policymakers, consumers, health plans, insurers, federal and state agencies, and other public and private groups to develop topics for systematic review of the literature
- To promote the synthesis, translation, and dissemination of research evidence.
Ultimately, these stakeholders are responsible for using the evidence to improve practice through guidelines, quality initiatives, coverage decisions, research programs, advocacy, and other activities.
As one of nine EPCs, the ECRI-Penn Medicine EPC also can bid on and deliver these major projects:
- Conducting technology assessments for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Performing work for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
- Conducting systematic reviews and technical briefs under the EHC Program
Our experts collaborate on systematic reviews of scientific research and healthcare technologies, producing reports to help translate and disseminate findings to a variety of audiences.
To date, the ECRI-Penn Medicine EPC has provided a variety of services, including evidence reports and assessments about medical technologies and health policy issues. Our team of experts has offered trusted guidance and consulting on new and emerging medical technologies, procedures, genetic tests, and clinical practice guidelines. For example, as part of our Horizon Scanning Project with the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, we track technologies and services still in development and forecast what may impact healthcare in the future. And since 2012, ECRI has supported the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines program.
Review our published reports on the AHRQ and CMS websites.
- Healthcare Worker Implicit Bias Training and Education (January 30, 2024)
- Reducing Adverse Drug Events Related to Anticoagulant Use in Adults (January 16, 2024)
- Impact of Healthcare Algorithms on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health and Healthcare (December 8, 2023)
- Management of Infantile Epilepsies (October 25, 2022)
- Malnutrition in Hospitalized Adults (October 13, 2021)
- Interventions To Decrease Hospital Length of Stay (September 20, 2021)
- No Touch Modalities for Disinfecting Patient Rooms in Acute Settings (October 2, 2020)
- Automated-Entry Patient Generated Health Data for Chronic Conditions: The Evidence on Health Outcomes (December 3, 2019)
- Characteristics of Existing Asthma Self-Management Education Packages (November 26, 2019)
- Translation of a C. difficile Treatment Clinical Pathway Into Machine-Readable Clinical Decision Support Artifacts Prototyped for Electronic Health Record Integration (November 20, 2019)
- Use of a Clinical Pathway To Facilitate the Translation and Utilization of AHRQ EPC Report Findings (December 5, 2018)
- Skin Substitutes for Treating Chronic Wounds (November 27, 2018)
- Effectiveness of Indoor Allergen Reduction in Management of Asthma (February 15, 2018)