“HAP, Pennsylvania hospitals, and our partners have a strong history of creating and sustaining meaningful quality improvements for patients,” said HAP President and CEO Andy Carter.
Harrisburg, Pa. (October 3, 2016) (PRWEB) October 03, 2016
The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) has been selected as one of only 16 national, regional, or state hospital associations, Quality Improvement Organizations, and health system organizations to continue efforts in reducing preventable hospital-acquired conditions and readmissions.
The Hospital Improvement Innovation Network efforts will build upon the collective momentum of the Hospital Engagement Networks (HEN) and Quality Improvement Organizations to reduce patient harm and readmissions. This announcement is part of a broader effort to transform out health care system into one that works better for the American people and for the Medicare program.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announcement of the Hospital Improvement Innovation Network awardees marks the third time HAP has secured a highly-competitive contract as part of the national Partnership for Patients (PfP) initiative. HAP led both HEN and HEN 2.0 quality improvement efforts and now is set to continue that work to improve patient care in the hospital setting.
HAP is the only Pennsylvania-based Hospital Improvement Innovation Network.
“Health care quality and patient safety are not areas that hospitals work to address, reach a goal, and then never tackle again,” said HAP President and CEO Andy Carter. “These are potential life-altering focus areas that require rigorous and continuous interventions, process revaluation, and constant education.”
“HAP, Pennsylvania hospitals, and our partners have a strong history of creating and sustaining meaningful quality improvements for patients,” said Carter. “CMS’ decision to choose HAP as one of its only 16 Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks nationwide reflects its confidence in our ability to keep the momentum going and continue to decrease patient harm and readmissions."
Through 2019, Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks will work to achieve a 20 percent decrease in overall patient harm and a 12 percent reduction in 30-day hospital readmissions as a population-based measure (readmissions per 1,000 people) from the 2014 baseline. Efforts to address health equity for Medicare beneficiaries will be central to the Hospital Improvement Innovation Network efforts. CMS will monitor and evaluate the activities of the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks to ensure that they are generating results and improving patient safety.
“We have made significant progress in keeping patients safe – an estimated 2.1 million fewer patients harmed, 87,000 lives saved, and nearly $20 billion in cost-savings from 2010 to 2014 – and we are focused on accelerating improvement efforts,” said Patrick Conway, M.D., CMS acting principal deputy administrator and chief medical officer. “The work of the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks will allow us to continue to improve health care safety across the nation and reduce readmissions at a national scale – keeping people as safe and healthy as possible.”
Through HAP’s HEN work (commonly referred to as HAP PA-HEN) from 2012 to 2014, HAP and participating hospitals significantly reduced all-cause harm and preventable readmissions in Pennsylvania. The efforts also resulted in an avoidance of more than 136,000 harm events and an estimated cost avoidance of nearly $700 million in the state.
The Hospital Improvement Innovation Network proposed projects and targeted conditions will include 11 core patient safety areas of focus including severe sepsis and septic shock. HIIN work also will address:
- Clostridium difficile bacterial infection with antibiotic stewardship/MDRO
- Emergency department diagnostic errors
- Computed tomography (CT) radiation safety
In addition, HAP will focus on the “culture of safety” within hospitals, patient and family engagement, and health disparities.
The Partnership for Patients model is one of the first models established in 2011 to be tested under the authority of section 1115A of the Social Security Act (the Act) with the goal of reducing program expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care. Since the launch of the Partnership for Patients and the work of Hospital Engagement Networks in collaboration with many other stakeholders, the vast majority of U.S. hospitals have delivered results as demonstrated by the achievement of unprecedented national reductions in harm. CMS believes that the upcoming work of the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks, working as part of the Quality Improvement Organization’s work to improve patient safety and the quality of care in the Medicare program, will continue the great strides made in improving care provided to beneficiaries.
ABOUT HAP: HAP is a statewide membership services organization that advocates for nearly 240 Pennsylvania acute and specialty care, primary care, subacute care, long-term care, home health, and hospice providers, as well as the patients and communities they serve. Additional information about HAP is available online at http://www.haponline.org.
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2016