BMJ: Michigan ICU initiative reduces healthcare-associated risks
Older Americans who were treated in Michigan intensive care units (ICUs) saw larger decreases in their likelihood of dying while hospitalized than similar ICU patients in other Midwestern hospitals, according to a new study funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published in the British Medical Journal.
The study sought to evaluate the Keystone Project, an initiative targeted to reduce the number of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and is the first to link these programs to reduced death rates.
The Keystone Project includes promoting a culture of patient safety, improving communication among ICU staff teams and implementing practices based on guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), such as checklists and hand washing, to reduce rates of catheter-related bloodstream infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Researchers led by Allison Lipitz-Snyderman, PhD, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, analyzed Medicare data for ICU patients in Michigan hospitals and 364 hospitals in 11 other Midwestern states.
Lipitz-Snyderman and colleagues looked at data before the project was initiated, while it was being phased in and up to 22 months after implementation. The researchers found that overall a person's chance of dying decreased by about 24 percent in Michigan after the program was implemented compared with only 16 percent in surrounding Midwestern states where the program was not implemented.
"Further research should be done to address other important issues impacting the safety and quality of patient care," concluded the researchers.
The study sought to evaluate the Keystone Project, an initiative targeted to reduce the number of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and is the first to link these programs to reduced death rates.
The Keystone Project includes promoting a culture of patient safety, improving communication among ICU staff teams and implementing practices based on guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), such as checklists and hand washing, to reduce rates of catheter-related bloodstream infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Researchers led by Allison Lipitz-Snyderman, PhD, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, analyzed Medicare data for ICU patients in Michigan hospitals and 364 hospitals in 11 other Midwestern states.
Lipitz-Snyderman and colleagues looked at data before the project was initiated, while it was being phased in and up to 22 months after implementation. The researchers found that overall a person's chance of dying decreased by about 24 percent in Michigan after the program was implemented compared with only 16 percent in surrounding Midwestern states where the program was not implemented.
"Further research should be done to address other important issues impacting the safety and quality of patient care," concluded the researchers.