ISMP

What ISMP does

ISMP (Institute for Safe Medication Practices) is a US-based non-profit organization founded in 1994 and headquartered in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. It operates as the first non-profit dedicated to the promotion of safe medication practices, providing research, education, and advocacy to prevent medication errors and adverse drug events across the healthcare system. ISMP is affiliated with ECRI and operates under joint 'ECRI and ISMP' branding through a shared domain, though the precise ownership structure is not explicitly disclosed in source materials.

ISMP's core offerings comprise four service lines: Consulting Services (unbiased analysis and customized roadmaps for healthcare organizations), Education Programs (innovative training including Medication Safety Intensive workshops and on-demand content), Newsletters (the leading subscription publication for medication error information, fueled by error reports from MERP and VERP), and Memberships (actionable guidance for pharmacists, risk managers, patient safety officers, and quality directors). The organization also operates the National Medication Errors Reporting Program (MERP) and National Vaccine Errors Reporting Program (VERP), which aggregate thousands of practitioner-submitted error reports and form the data backbone for ISMP's guidance content, alerts, and Cheers Awards recognition program.

ISMP serves eight distinct healthcare verticals: Acute Care, Ambulatory Care, Senior Care, Insurers, Payers, Manufacturers, Government, and Rural Healthcare, each with dedicated solution pages. Revenue is generated through subscription newsletters, recurring memberships, fee-based consulting engagements, and paid education programs, distributed via direct enterprise sales and self-serve channels. The organization operates with 11-50 employees, claims a global footprint, and maintains a 30+ year track record of supporting healthcare practitioners and organizations in medication safety improvement.

Name

ISMP

Legal name

Institute for Safe Medication Practices

Website

https://ismp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ISMP is a US non-profit founded in 1994, affiliated with ECRI, that prevents medication errors through consulting, education, newsletters, and memberships powered by the MERP and VERP national error-reporting programs, serving healthcare providers, payers, and manufacturers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Patient Safety and Medication Error Prevention Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Process Safety & Major Hazard Risk Management (PSM) (BPAHAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Patient Support Programs & Device/Vaccine Vigilance (PSP/PSUR support) (HLAGALAK)

Keywords

• Medication safety consulting
• Patient safety education
• Medication error reporting
• Pharmacy risk management
• Healthcare safety guidance

Headquarters

HQ city

Horsham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Newsletters: ISMP publishes newsletters for healthcare practitioners in all settings, fueled by error reports from the National Medication Errors Reporting Program (MERP) and National Vaccine Errors Reporting Program (VERP).
2. Memberships: ISMP Memberships provide actionable guidance and practical strategies to reduce medication and vaccine error risks for pharmacists, risk managers, patient/medication safety officers, and quality directors.
3. Consulting Services: Consulting services provide unbiased analysis, customized roadmaps, and ongoing guidance for reducing and preventing medication errors in healthcare organizations.
4. Education Programs: Innovative programs for healthcare staff involved in the medication use process, including Medication Safety Intensive (MSI) Workshops and on-demand education.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ISMP (Institute for Safe Medication Practices) is a non-profit patient safety organization that helps healthcare providers prevent medication and vaccine errors through four core service lines: unbiased consulting engagements with customized roadmaps, education programs (including Medication Safety Intensive workshops), subscription newsletters, and organization-wide memberships. All offerings are powered by practitioner-submitted error reports captured through the National Medication Errors Reporting Program (MERP) and the National Vaccine Errors Reporting Program (VERP).

Product overview

ISMP (Institute for Safe Medication Practices) is a non-profit organization offering a portfolio of medication safety services rather than a single unified product. The core offerings include Consulting Services, Education programs, Newsletters, and Memberships, all powered by data from the National Medication Errors Reporting Program (MERP) and National Vaccine Errors Reporting Program (VERP). ISMP provides targeted solutions across healthcare segments including Acute Care, Ambulatory Care, Senior Care, Insurers, Manufacturers, and Government sectors. Additional services include the Medication Safety Intensive (MSI) Workshops, Cheers Awards recognition program, and an Error Reporting System for practitioners to submit medication and vaccine errors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ISMP Consulting Services Provides unbiased analysis, customized roadmaps, and ongoing guidance to healthcare organizations of any size—including individual practitioners and large multi-site enterprises—for significantly reducing and preventing medication errors.
• ISMP Education Innovative educational programs for all staff involved in the medication use process, covering current medication safety issues facing healthcare organizations.
• ISMP Newsletters Subscription newsletters that are the leading source of medication error information and guidance for healthcare practitioners in all settings, fueled by error reports from MERP and VERP.
• ISMP Memberships Organization-level memberships providing actionable guidance and practical strategies for pharmacists, risk managers, patient/medication safety officers, and quality directors to develop and evaluate patient safety, quality, and risk management activities.
• Medication Safety Intensive (MSI) Workshops Workshop offerings providing intensive medication safety training and education for healthcare professionals involved in the medication use process.
• ISMP Acute Care Solutions Targeted medication safety solutions specifically designed for acute care healthcare settings, including hospitals.
• ISMP Ambulatory Care Solutions Targeted medication safety solutions specifically designed for ambulatory care healthcare settings, including clinics and outpatient facilities.
• ISMP Senior Care Solutions Targeted medication safety solutions specifically designed for senior care settings, including long-term care and senior living facilities.
• ISMP Insurer Solutions Targeted medication safety solutions specifically designed for health insurance organizations requiring medication safety expertise for risk and quality outcomes.
• ISMP Manufacturer Solutions Targeted medication safety solutions specifically designed for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, supporting drug safety monitoring and post-market surveillance.
• ISMP Government Solutions Targeted medication safety solutions specifically designed for government healthcare agencies and regulatory bodies.

Quantifiable outcome

• ISMP has helped protect millions of patients from medication errors and adverse drug events

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ECRIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerECRI is the parent organization of ISMP. The two organizations collaborate on patient safety initiatives, including joint white papers on medication safety issues such as the wellness peptides warning. ECRI acquired ISMP and provides institutional support while ISMP maintains its focus on medication safety.
• Med Safety BoardminorOthersRelated organization focused on medication safety initiatives, listed as a related company on ISMP's website.
• Medication Safety Officers Society (MSOS)minorOthersProfessional society for medication safety officers, listed as a related organization on ISMP's website.
• ConsumerMedSafety.orgminorOthersConsumer-facing medication safety website, listed as a related organization on ISMP's website.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ECRI: ECRI is the parent organization of ISMP and a broader patient safety, healthcare technology, and evidence-based medicine organization. They share overlapping patient safety missions and ISMP operates as a focused medication-safety unit within ECRI's portfolio.
• Wolters Kluwer Health (Clinical Drug Information / Medi-Span): Wolters Kluwer provides drug information, clinical decision support, and patient safety solutions (including Medi-Span and UpToDate Lexidrug) widely used by hospitals. It competes with ISMP in delivering medication safety intelligence to healthcare enterprises.
• Elsevier (ClinicalPath / ClinicalKey): Elsevier delivers clinical decision support, drug reference, and healthcare analytics products to providers. It overlaps with ISMP's mission of equipping clinicians with medication safety information at the point of care.
• First Databank (FDB): FDB provides drug knowledge databases and clinical decision support tools integrated into EHRs to support safe medication ordering. It is comparable to ISMP as a foundational medication safety data and intelligence provider.
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): AHRQ is a U.S. federal agency that funds patient safety research, publishes guidance, and develops tools to reduce medical errors including medication errors. It is comparable as a public-sector producer of patient safety evidence and best practices.

Direct peers

• The Joint Commission: The Joint Commission is the dominant U.S. healthcare accreditation body that sets patient safety standards, including medication safety (e.g., National Patient Safety Goals). It is directly comparable as a mission-driven patient safety standards and advisory organization.
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI): IHI is a non-profit focused on healthcare quality and patient safety improvement through research, education, and advisory services. It is comparable to ISMP in being a mission-driven quality/safety organization serving hospitals and healthcare systems.
• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP): ASHP is the largest professional society of pharmacists, providing medication safety guidelines, education, and advocacy. It is comparable to ISMP as a pharmacist-focused medication safety and education organization.

Emerging players

• Omnicell: Omnicell provides medication management automation, including pharmacy and patient safety solutions for hospitals. While more product-focused, it shares ISMP's end goal of reducing medication errors and adverse drug events in healthcare settings.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) - Medication Management: BD's Medication Management Solutions business provides medication safety technology, infusion systems, and pharmacy automation to hospitals. It addresses medication error prevention through hardware and software products, overlapping with ISMP's mission.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ISMP