Health IT victory
In what is being hailed as a victory for the Meaningful Use program and care quality efforts, the big news this week was the report that health IT is working when it comes to reducing medical errors. Hospitals committed 17 percent fewer medical errors in 2013 than in 2010, and this increase in patient safety saved the lives of 50,000 people, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
A reduction of 1.3 million incidences of hospital-acquired conditions from 2010 to 2013 also saved approximately $12 billion, according to the HHS report.
"This progress toward a safer health care system occurred during a period of concerted attention by hospitals throughout the country to reduce adverse events," according to the department's announcement. The efforts were due in part to provisions of the Affordable Care Act such as Medicare payment incentives to improve the quality of care and the HHS Partnership for Patients initiative.
“These data represent significant progress in improving the quality of care that patients receive while spending our health care dollars more wisely," said HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. "HHS will work with partners across the country to continue to build on this progress.”
“We have built an ‘infrastructure of improvement’ that will aid hospitals and the healthcare field for years to come," Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association.
Does this report help with the culture change at your organization? Are you experiencing the benefits of this infrastructure of improvement? Please share your thoughts.
Beth Walsh
Clinical Innovation + Technology editor
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.