ECRI

Maternal harm and death in the United States is the worst among all wealthy nations, and racial and other disparities mean that some groups are even more severely impacted. ECRI’s Carlye Hendershot, senior patient safety analyst, describes efforts underway to reverse these trends, highlighting steps that policymakers and providers can take to protect patients who are or have recently been pregnant, especially in the postpartum period after they leave the hospital.

Maternal harm and death in the United States is the worst among all wealthy nations, and racial and other disparities mean that some groups are even more severely impacted. We discuss steps that policymakers and providers can take to protect patients.



Racial and Other Disparities in Maternal Healthcare

Clinical algorithms that include considerations of patients’ race have complex effects, sometimes making care disparities worse, and sometimes helping to reduce disparities. In this episode, ECRI’s Kelley Tipton, MPH, Associate Director of Evidence Contracts &amp; Consulting, describes an <a href="https://www.ecri.org/solutions/ecri-penn-medicine-evidence-based-practice-center" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ECRI-Penn Medicine Evidence-Based Practice Center</a> (EPC) systematic review of the evidence related to racial considerations in clinical algorithms. For more details, read the <a href="https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/racial-disparities-health-healthcare/research" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">full EPC report</a> and a <a href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-2960" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">systematic review</a> published March 12, 2024, in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Clinical algorithms that include considerations of patients’ race have complex effects, sometimes making care disparities worse, and sometimes helping to reduce disparities. In this episode we review evidence related to racial considerations in clinical algorithms.

The Evidence on Race-Based Clinical Algorithms

Despite progress in syphilis treatment over the past century, a concerning increase in the rate of congenital syphilis in newborns has emerged in recent years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 10 times as many babies were born with congenital syphilis in 2022 than in 2012—the highest number of cases in one year since 1994 and a 31.7% increase in the number of cases recorded in 2021. In this episode, ECRI’s Laura Stone describes reasons for this increase and steps providers can take to combat it.

A concerning increase in the rate of congenital syphilis in newborns has emerged in recent years. In this episode, we describe reasons for this increase and steps to combat it.


The Congenital Syphilis Epidemic

The market for single-use bronchoscopes has exploded, largely driven by the reduced risk of cross-contamination compared to reusable devices. ECRI Principal Project Engineer Mairead Smith explores some of the trade-offs, <a href="https://www.giejournal.org/article/S0016-5107(21)00365-5/fulltext" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">research weighing the environmental costs</a> of single-use against reprocessing, and <a href="https://www.ecri.org/components/HDJournal/Pages/When-to-Consider-Single-Use-Endoscopes.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ECRI’s considerations</a> (Device Evaluation members only) for when to select each type of device.

The market for single-use bronchoscopes has exploded, largely driven by cross-contamination concerns. We explore some of the trade-offs, environmental costs, and considerations when selecting a device.


In the ECRI Lab: Evaluating Bronchoscopes

Traditional adult emergency departments (EDs) may be unprepared to care for children, leading to increased risks of missed and delayed diagnoses, errors in treatment, and more. Jennifer Comerford, a Patient Safety Analyst at ECRI, describes these risks and steps organizations can take to prepare for pediatric patients and families can take to protect their loved ones—including children experiencing emergencies in other settings.

Traditional adult emergency departments may be unprepared to care for children, leading to increased risks. We discuss steps organizations can take to prepare for pediatric patients and families can take to protect their loved ones.


Protecting Children in Adult Emergency Departments

In an era of widespread staffing shortages, rising workplace violence threatens physical and psychological harm that could drive even more providers away from healthcare. In this episode, Andrew Furman, ECRI’s Vice President of Clinical Evidence and Safety Solutions, describes the importance of leadership support for a systematic approach to understanding the prevalence of violence and implementing effective steps to reduce the risk to workers across all care settings.Physical and verbal violence against healthcare staff was featured on the Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns 2023, including additional recommendations rooted in a Total Systems Safety approach. Register to download the special report at https://www.ecri.org/top-10-patient-safety-concerns-2023-special-report.

We discuss the importance of leadership support for a systematic approach to understanding the prevalence of violence and implementing effective steps to reduce the risk to workers across all care settings.


A Systematic Approach to Workplace Violence Prevention

As generative AI technologies get more attention on social media, in the news, and even Hollywood labor disputes, providers are putting a new focus on how AI is used in healthcare. ECRI’s Senior Engineering Manager Erin Sparnon joins us to discuss how AI is already being used, how AI developers are learning to overcome racial biases that may have been baked in to AI training data in the past, and how organizations can prepare for even more AI development and implementation.

We discuss how AI is already being used in healthcare, how AI developers are learning to overcome racial biases in training data, and how organizations can prepare for even more AI development and implementation.


Preparing for the Next Wave of AI in Healthcare

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ECRI Now provides unique insights on pressing healthcare issues.&nbsp; In each episode, ECRI’s subject matter experts share their experience in relationship to the latest healthcare news.Topics will range from ethical issues in healthcare, patient safety, infection control, healthcare IT and spend management across the continuum of care from health systems to non-acute care settings.

Racial and Other Disparities in Maternal Healthcare

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