Hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) are still trending downward, with 3 million fewer adverse events (AEs)—a 21% drop—over a 5-year period, according to the recently released National Scorecard on Rates of Hospital-Acquired Conditions . Thanks in part to provisions of the Affordable Care Act, HHS says, about 125,000 fewer patients died due to HACs, and > $28 billion in health care costs was saved.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) researchers used national data systems to analyze the incidence of 28 HACs that occurred from 2010 to 2015. The list included AEs, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central-line associated bloodstream infections, pressure ulcers, and surgical site infections, selected as focus areas because they’re common and considered preventable.
AHRQ’s Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) is one of the tools used most often to reduce HACs. It’s a proven method, HHS says, that combines improvement in safety culture, teamwork, and communications with evidence-based practices to protect patients. AHRQ has “worked hand-in-hand with frontline clinicians” to help them use CUSP in a series of “highly effective” nationwide projects.
“AHRQ has been building a foundation of patient safety research for the last decade and a half at the request of Congress,” said AHRQ director Andy Bindman, MD. “Now we’re seeing these investments continue to pay off in terms of lives saved, harm avoided, and safer care delivery overall.”