ECRI Institute

Monday, September 28, 2026 | 3:35 pm - 4:05 pm ECRI Presenting on Patient Trust as a Strategic Enterprise Asset at10thAnnual Patient Experience Symposium Patient and community trust may be one of a healthcare organization’s most valuable assets and one of its greatest sources of risk, yet few health systems manage it with the same rigor applied to financial performance, quality, safety, or operations.

Preventing falls in a healthcare facility isn’t just a clinical metric, it’s a team sport. While we have high-tech beds and sophisticated risk assessment tools, a truly resilient systems-based approach recognizes that safety is not just a set of clinical protocols, but a network of moving parts. In this system, the patient and their family are not just "recipients" of care–they are a crucial, active component of the safety infrastructure.

Patient falls are a significant and costly problem in healthcare. In the United States alone, between 700,000 and 1 million patients fall in hospitals each year. These falls can lead to serious injuries, with an average cost of a fall with injury being over $14,000. Treating injuries related to falls is extremely costly, with some estimates as high as $80 billion annually.

Skip to content Cart Your cart is empty Risk rarely announces itself all at once or arrives on a schedule. It emerges gradually, surfaces unexpectedly, and evolves continuously. A product that once performed reliably may develop safety concerns. A previously stable supplier may experience disruption. Utilization patterns drift. New evidence reshapes what “best choice” means. By the time risk becomes visible, leaders are often already reacting.

In health and long-term care facilities across the country, "fall prevention bundles" have become a standard of care. These bundles—sets of evidence-based interventions applied concurrently—are designed to create a safety net for at-risk patients. They often include universal precautions like nonslip footwear, a safe environment, and placing personal items within reach, supplemented by targeted strategies based on risk, such as enhanced supervision or bed alarms. On paper, the strategy is sound.

Supply chain leaders can likely point to decisions that were well made but failed to deliver the expected results. The option was carefully evaluated. Clinical performance and safety were reviewed. Risks were identified. The value analysis process ran its course. The contract was negotiated and signed.

ECRI has just released its Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns 2026, highlighting the most urgent patient safety challenges currently facing the healthcare industry. This report is informed by evidence-based research, data, and expert insight from both ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Beyond identifying these concerns, we also offer guidance and resources to help organizations tackle them, supporting a systems approach to safety.

ECRI has just released its Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns 2026, highlighting the most urgent patient safety challenges currently facing the healthcare industry. This report is informed by evidence-based research, event data, and expert insights from both ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices.

March 20, 2026 | 2:00 pm ET AI is rapidly reshaping how diagnoses are made—creating new opportunities to improve accuracy, efficiency, and patient outcomes. At the same time, its expanding role in clinical decision-making introduces important challenges related to patient safety, ethics, transparency, and trust. As AI-powered tools become more embedded in diagnostic workflows, healthcare leaders must carefully balance innovation with responsible implementation.

Every year, ECRI’s Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns report helps healthcare leaders identify and prepare for the most pressing safety challenges impacting care delivery. Backed by data, expert insight, and decades of experience, the report has become one of the industry’s most trusted resources for guiding safety and risk management strategies. As the 2026 release approaches, one thing is clear: patient safety continues to evolve in complexity and urgency.