ECRI Launches Personalized Value Analysis Service

ECRI Institute’s new healthcare value analysis support service,ValueGuide, provides a simple solution for hospital value analysis committees that have limited research capabilities, lack clinical participation, or struggle with incomplete data or inconsistent processes, all of which can lead to lower quality of care and lost revenue.

The new service by ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, matches facilities with a dedicated analyst. The ECRI analyst supports the research for new product requests by summarizing the Institute’s collective knowledge into concise, customized evidence-based reports.

Each analysis digs into the financial, safety and/or clinical concerns about a product, and provides bottom-line conclusions about what the data mean so value analysis committees can make quicker, more informed product decisions. Product requests can range from premium orthopedic implants like hip and knee joints to exam gloves.

“Many value analysis committees spend weeks or months trying to come to consensus on how to proceed with a new product request, especially for implantables,” says Timothy Browne, director, ECRI Institute. “ValueGuide cuts to the chase by showing them the supporting data for the products they’re considering so they can make the right decisions quickly and gain new patient care benefits or savings sooner.”

ValueGuide also includes an annual on-site assessment of how a hospital or health system’s value analysis process compares to best practices. ECRI Institute’s consulting staff attends meetings, reviews value analysis materials, interviews key stakeholders and makes recommendations.

“We can help hospitals stay focused on improving patient care and their bottom line by working with them to set up an infrastructure that’s transparent, involves key stakeholders, and uses unbiased evidence,” says Thomas E. Skorup, FACHE, vice president of applied solutions, ECRI Institute.