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National initiative aims to improve health care and lower costs
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The Department of Health and Human Services has recently announced a new national partnership involving the government, private sector, hospitals and doctors to stop preventable patient injuries and complications.
Officials say that the Partnership for Patients could save 60,000 lives during the next 3 years and reduce Medicare costs by $50 billion during the next 10 years. More than 500 hospitals, employers, physician, nurses and consumer groups have pledged their commitment to the initiative, according to the release.
“Americans go the hospital to get well, but millions of patients are injured because of preventable complications and accidents,” Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, stated in a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) press release. “Working closely with hospitals, doctors, nurses, patients, families and employers, we will support efforts to help keep patients safe, improve care and reduce costs. Working together, we can help eliminate preventable harm to patients.”
HHS noted that it would invest up to $1 billion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to start the initiative including up to $500 million from the CMS Innovation Center and $500 million which has already been funded through the Community-based Care Transitions Program.
According to the release, the funds will be used for reforms that prevent hospital patients from getting injured or sicker and help patients heal without complications. By the end of 2013, the partnership seeks to decrease the number of preventable hospital-acquired conditions found in 2010 by 40%. The initiative also aims to lower the rate of preventable complications that occur during transition between care settings and require re-hospitalization within 30 days of discharge by 20%.
The partnership will initially focus on nine types of medical errors and complications, including surgical site infections and the prevention of adverse drug reactions. The CMS Innovation Center will help hospitals implement evidence-based care improvements to prevent patient injuries on a local level and create approaches to share strategies among partners in all states, according to the release.
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