ECRI announces that it has forged a partnership with Paramus, N.J.-based Nuvolo, a provider of cloud-based Connected Workplace solutions. The partnership integrates ECRI’s medical device data standardization with Nuvolo Connected Workplace for Healthcare.

The automated process for standardization of medical device data in a customer’s computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is designed to resolve technical and time-consuming challenges that clinical engineering teams face in managing equipment maintenance and recall notifications.

Ensuring accurate information about medical device classification, model, and manufacturer information across the organization is critical for efficient tracking related to device safety, security, and replacement planning, ECRI officials say. Without common device data formats and normalized data, the effectiveness of maintenance programs can be difficult to measure and manage, they add.

“Accurate inventory quality and data integrity is crucial to improving the management and resolution of the more than 3,000 recall alerts issued each year,” says Michael Argentieri, ECRI’s vice president of technology and safety. “We expect our partnership with Nuvolo will drive improvements in patient safety, as well as operational efficiencies.”

Nuvolo will enable automatic standardizing of device data by connecting the customer’s Nuvolo CMMS system to ECRI’s Inventory Standardization membership program. Officials say ECRI’s membership helps healthcare teams maintain referential integrity and increase the quality of inventory data. In addition, ECRI’s standardized device data improves the efficiency of capital planning and protects against cybersecurity threats across an entire fleet of devices, organization officials add.

“Once enabled, the ECRI standardization integration will constantly look at new devices as an organization grows and continue to ensure standardized identification of new and existing devices. This provides the organization with the clean data it needs to operate smoothly,” says Heidi Horn, vice president of healthcare product marketing at Nuvolo, and chair of the AAMI Technology Management Council.