Decline in hospital-acquired conditions saves billions over 4 years

Between 2010 and 2014, the rate of hospital-acquired conditions declined by 17%, resulting in nearly $20 billion in health care cost savings, according to a press release from the HHS.

The HHS partially credits this decline to the increased focus on patient safety efforts nationwide.

“Patients in America’s hospitals are safer today as a result of this partnership with hospitals and health care providers. The Affordable Care Act has given us tools to build a better health care system that protects patients, improves quality and makes the most of our health care dollars,” HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said in a press release.

Hospitals may have been encouraged to enhance patient safety as part of the ACA, and due to financial incentives from CMS and other payers’ payment policies, public-reporting of hospital-level results, technical assistance from the Quality Improvement Organizations program and technical and catalytic efforts of the HHS Partnership for Patients initiative, according to the HHS report. Findings from the report indicated that an estimated 87,000 fewer patients died in hospital settings between 2010 and 2014 thanks to the reduction of hospital-acquired conditions.

Researchers compared the incidence rates of hospital-acquired conditions from 2010 with rates between 2010 and 2014 to estimate the efficacy of their focus on patient safety efforts across hospitals nationwide. Assessed hospital conditions included adverse drug events, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, pressure ulcers and surgical site infections.

The researchers noted that while the 17% decline in hospital-acquired conditions is a great start, the decline remained unchanged between 2013 and 2014, indicating that much work is left to do. Next steps include targeting diagnostic errors and antibiotic resistance in hospital settings, according to the researchers.

“Hospitals work diligently every day to provide the best possible care for the patients they serve. These new numbers are impressive and show the great progress hospitals continue to make. While there is always more work to be done to improve patient safety, the collaborative efforts of hospitals and HHS have delivered great results that will continue to help the field on the quality improvement journey,” Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, said in the release.

Reference:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Saving Lives & Saving Money: Hospital-Acquired Conditions Update. 2015. Accessed online: Dec. 1, 2015.