More than 1,500 hospitals improved care for more than 143,000 patients since January 2012 through a joint initiative between two major healthcare advocacy organizations, in addition to saving more than $1.3 billion, according to a statement from the Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET).
The hospitals participated in the Hospital Engagement Network (HEN), a collaboration between HRET and the American Hospital Association (AHA) that aims to reduce harm by 40 percent and slash readmissions by 20 percent. HEN helped hospitals in 31 states foster infrastructure, organizational culture and expertise to promote further improvements down the road.
According to HEN's findings, the program prevented:
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Nearly 19,000 early-elective deliveries
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More than 11,000 readmissions
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More than 8,500 infections
"The latest results from the HEN effort are outstanding and highlight the success that quality improvement professionals can make within their hospitals and health systems," Maulik Joshi, president of HRET and senior vice president for AHA, said in the statement. "Our efforts to provide only the safest, highest-quality care are just beginning, and the HEN, through its hospital participants and state hospital partners, is making incredible strides forward."
The full findings will be published later in the month as part of the 2nd Annual Quality & Safety Roadmap meeting, hosted by the Symposium for Leaders in Healthcare Quality, a new AHA forum.
An April report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that hospitals spent more than $40 billion treating readmitted patients between January and November 2011, at $24 billion for Medicare patients, $8.1 billion for privately insured patients and $7.6 billion for Medicaid patients, FierceHealthFinance previously reported.
To learn more:
- here's the announcement (.pdf)