ECRI Institute Announces Launch of its New SELECT Capital Budget Tool

New resource helps hospitals simplify and streamline the capital budget process

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Sept. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- ECRI Institute®, an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, today announces the release of its new SELECT Capital Budget Tool, the latest enhancement to ECRI Institute's  SELECTplus™ capital technology advisory service used by more than 2,500 hospitals and health systems worldwide.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110112/DC29081LOGO)

The SELECT Capital Budget Tool is an interactive, Web-based resource that allows hospital departments and purchasing professionals to create clean, standardized preliminary equipment "wish lists" – the first step in the often arduous task of building a hospital or health system's annual capital budget.

"Hospital decision makers will no longer need to take time out of their busy schedules to contact vendors for list price quotes when building their budgets, often budgeting for much more than necessary,"  says Jennifer Myers, ECRI Institute's Vice President of SELECT Health Technology Services.

Built on a best practice approach to capital spend management, the Capital Budget Tool enables hospital staff to build a clean, standardized capital budget wish list right from the start—one that relies on actual and accurate prices paid, without a lot of tinkering and tweaking of data.

During budget season, hospital staff can turn to the Capital Budget Tool to:

• Choose models and devices directly from the ECRI Institute capital equipment database
• Build a clean, standardized capital equipment wish list
• Instantly see average prices for items in the budget
• Submit a budget directly to ECRI Institute for further analysis, including unlimited consultation with their staff of technology analysts, biomedical engineers, clinicians and researchers.

"The Capital Budget Tool can help hospitals inform their critical purchasing decisions and allocate their capital budget dollars more strategically in the face of current healthcare trends," says Anthony J. Montagnolo, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Office, ECRI Institute.

Using the Capital Budget Tool, multiple staff members within a hospital or system can submit proposed or requested items, allowing for greater transparency across all departments of a hospital when it comes to the annual capital budget process. The tool quickly populates standardized pricing data in a simple list format that includes the name of staff, department, and facility (if a hospital system) requesting a particular piece of equipment. Users can view the average price for a budget item from within a 12-month window, and the tool automatically recalculates totals as new items are added.

For more information about ECRI Institute's SELECT Capital Budget Tool, or to request a demonstration, contact Jennifer Myers at (610) 825-6000, ext. 5287, or e-mail [email protected]. To learn more about ECRI Institute, contact us at [email protected], (610) 825-6000, or 5200 Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462.

ECRI Institute (www.ecri.org), a nonprofit organization, brings the discipline of applied scientific research to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are best to enable healthcare organizations improve patient care. As pioneers in this science, ECRI Institute marries experience and independence with the objectivity of evidence-based research.  ECRI Institute is designated as an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ECRI Institute PSO is listed as a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Find ECRI Institute on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ECRIInstitute) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ECRI_Institute).

SOURCE ECRI Institute