Deaths from hospital-acquired conditions declined by 50,000; $12 billion saved

The Department of Health and Human Services reported that $12 billion in health care costs were saved as a result of a reduction in deaths from hospital-acquired conditions by about 50,000 patients from 2010 to 2013.

HHS said in a press release that it estimates 1.3 million fewer hospital-acquired conditions, including central line-associated bloodstream infections, adverse drug events and surgical site infections, were avoided during that time period. This represented a 17% decline in hospital-acquired conditions.

“Today’s results are welcome news for patients and their families,” Sylvia M. Burwell, HHS secretary, said in the release. “These data represent significant progress in improving the quality of care that patients receive while spending our health care dollars more wisely. HHS will work with partners across the country to continue to build on this progress.”

Rich Umbdenstock, MHSA, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, concurred.

“Never before have we been able to bring so many hospitals, clinicians and experts together to share in a common goal — improving patient care,” he said in the release. “We have built an ‘infrastructure of improvement’ that will aid hospitals and the health care field for years to come and has spurred the results you see today.”

HHS wrote that the progress is driven by the way care is provided and by focusing on the coordination and integration of health care and by involving patients more closely in making health care decisions. Provisions in the Affordable Care Act, including Medicare payment incentives to improve the quality of care and focus on wellness and prevention, were credited in part for the reductions.