CMS has released a request for proposals for hospital improvement plans with the goal of cutting 30-day hospital readmissions by 12 percent and reducing patient harm by 20 percent.

The request was made in a blog post by the agency’s CMO Patrick Conway, MD, who said new initiative, known as Hospital Improvement and Innovation Networks (HIINs), will replace the Hospital Engagement Networks (HENs) within in the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO).

“These organizations will tap into the deep experience, capabilities and impact of QIOs, hospital associations, hospital systems, and national hospital affinity organizations with extensive experience in hospital quality improvement. The HIINs will engage and support the nation’s hospitals, patients, and their caregivers in work to implement and spread well-tested, evidence-based best practices,” Conway wrote.

The HEN initiative, first launched in 2011, has grown to include more than 3,700 acute care hospitals, covering almost 80 percent of all hospital discharges.

Conway expressed optimism about the new program going further, citing a December 2015 report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that said the rate of hospital-acquired conditions declined by 17 percent between 2010 and 2014 and “substantial” progress was made in reducing readmissions.

“I have been working in the field of quality improvement for 20 years, and I have never before seen results such as these,” Conway wrote. "This work, though, is far from done, and it is imperative that we sustain and strengthen efforts to address patient safety problems, such as central line infections and hospital readmissions."

Conway said the proposals would be an open competition, and while organizations which participated in HENs are welcome to submit for the new initiative, their proposals won’t be given preferential treatment in the selection process.