ECRI Institute announces that its president and CEO Jeffrey C. Lerner, PhD, will be retiring on December 31. Lerner joined ECRI Institute as vice president for strategic planning in 1984, and became CEO in 2001.

Jeffrey Lerner, PhD

Furthermore, Lerner set the course for ECRI Institute’s transition from its origins as a medical device evaluation laboratory to a broader health research organization that assesses clinical procedures and drug therapies, and creates initiatives in patient safety.

“The ECRI Institute leadership team is exceptionally strong, and the board and staff look forward to continuing both pursuit of our mission and expanding the services we provide to our constituencies,” says Board Chair John Reiss, PhD, JD. “Jeff has led the growth of ECRI in many new directions, and is retiring on a high note after long and meaningful service.”

Lerner also spoke out about this upcoming retirement, commenting: “I’m extremely proud of the groundbreaking work we have done and are doing to help hospitals and health systems and other constituencies improve, and in many instances transform, patient care.”

“Our work was once considered fringe,” he adds. “No more: today it is integrated into mainstream thinking and care delivery.”

During Lerner’s tenure, the nonprofit organization more than tripled the size of its multi-disciplinary staff to over 430, and expanded its research campus to 22 acres. ECRI Institute now serves more than 5,000 hospitals and health systems, ancillary healthcare providers, payers, and government agencies worldwide.

“The list of the institute’s achievements is long and will benefit patients and the health community that serves them far into the future,” says Lerner. “I am very proud of my colleagues at the Institute and throughout the world. I thank them, and also the healthcare community for its longstanding collaboration with us.”

ECRI Institute is currently searching for his replacement.