Coordinate safety, incentives to cut HACs, readmissions

The campaign against hospital readmissions and healthcare-acquired conditions (HACs) requires coordination--public and private, payer and provider, according to a new report by the Measures Application Partnership (MAP).

Therefore, the MAP recommends creating a national core set of safety measures that apply to all patients, regardless of where they receive care, how old they are, or who pays their healthcare bills.

"It would allow for consistency, meaningful comparisons, and greatly streamlined data collection efforts undertaken by providers," according to the report.

A standardized approach to collecting and calculating patient safety data in that national core set is also vital to reducing HACs and readmissions, notes the MAP, a public-private partnership convened by the National Quality Forum.

And public- and private-sector incentives, such as performance-based payment, must be consistent. Without uniformity, the incentives can confuse providers, rather than motivating them to deliver more reliable, safer care.

The MAP stresses that incentives also must account for safety-net hospitals' duty to provide care for low-income, uninsured, and vulnerable populations, so as not to wrongly penalize them or the patients they serve.

"This report points to a number of immediately actionable items that would make a significant difference in making care safer," George Isham, co-chair of the MAP Coordinating Committee, said in a statement. "Collaboration, innovation, and deliberate coordination across sectors will be key in achieving those steps."

The group also issued its final recommendations for coordinating physician performance measurement across federal programs, including longitudinal measures and considerations for healthcare disparities and undesirable consequences.

To learn more:
- read the MAP press release
- check out the final HAC, readmission strategy (.pdf)
- here's the physician performance measurement strategy (.pdf)