ECRI Institute-Penn Medicine Redesignated as AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Center

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Jan. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The ECRI Institute-Penn Medicine Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) was recently redesignated by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to serve as an EPC through 2019. ECRI Institute has maintained this designation since the inception of the EPC program in 1997. The ECRI Institute-Penn Medicine collaborative EPC was established in 2012.

Under the new contract, known as EPC V, the ECRI Institute-Penn Medicine EPC will work with clinicians, policymakers, patients, consumers, and other scientific partners to develop topics and questions for systematic review of the literature, and to promote the synthesis, translation, and dissemination of research evidence. The EPC has reported on a variety of topics, many in the area of cancer, genetic testing, and imaging tests (access free reports).

As part of the new contract, all 13 Evidence-based Practice Centers across the country will be eligible to bid on work to support the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent, volunteer panel of experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine dedicated to improving the health of Americans.

"Since we began working together, we've been able to utilize ECRI Institute's independent, evidence-based research and Penn Medicine's clinical and academic leadership to advance research to improve patient care," says Karen Schoelles, MD, SM, director of the ECRI Institute-Penn Medicine EPC. "This new contract inspires us to build on our previous collaborations and break into new research territory."

"We look forward to continuing our efforts to transform patient care delivery as we work alongside ECRI Institute and AHRQ," says Craig A. Umscheid, MD, MSCE, director of the Penn Medicine Center for Evidence-based Practice and senior associate director of the ECRI Institute-Penn Medicine EPC.

The EPC will work with Insight Policy Research, a women-owned, small disadvantaged business.

To learn more about ECRI Institute's work in evaluating health technologies through the Evidence-based Practice Center, or customized consultation and support for clinical practice guideline development, e-mail [email protected], or call (610) 825-6000, ext. 5334.

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About ECRI Institute
ECRI Institute (www.ecri.org), a nonprofit organization, dedicates itself to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to healthcare to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are best to enable improved patient care. As pioneers in this science for more than 45 years, ECRI Institute marries experience and independence with the objectivity of evidence-based research. Strict conflict-of-interest guidelines ensure objectivity. ECRI Institute is designated 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).

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