Research Confirms Hospital Culture a Major Factor in Reducing Readmission Rates: LifeWings Offers Hospitals a Guide with Steps to Assess Culture
Collierville, TN (PRWEB) April 28, 2014 -- A new report from Consumer Reports titled "Get Out and Stay Out of the Hospital" details the results of its investigation of readmission rates of patients 65 and older from 4,460 hospitals. The results reveal how important a hospital's culture is to reducing readmissions, events that are responsible for $17.5 billion in Medicare costs and significant health, well-being, and physicals risks to patients.
Consumer Reports' investigative team reviewed data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from July 2011 to June 2012. They found that readmission rates ranged from 13.3% to over 20% and that 27% of the hospitals reviewed received a rating of "low" in this area of performance. Readmission is hard on the patient and their family. Being readmitted in a weakened state can make patients more vulnerable to infections, prolonging treatment and recovery more and resulting in an even greater financial burden. Many readmissions are unavoidable but Consumer Reports suggests several hospital factors that could help reduce the number including the nurse to patient ratio and how the government reimburses hospitals.
An additional major factor cited in the report is hospital culture. In a study published in the journal Medical Care, Matthew D. McHugh, Ph.D., J.D., R.N., associate director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing discovered that a patient has a significantly lower rate of being readmitted if he or she is cared for in a hospital with a good work environment. The rate decreased by 7% for heart failure patients, 6% for heart attack patients, and 10% for patients with pneumonia.
LifeWings, the leading provider of patient safety improvement programs, has helped more than 150 hospitals improve their culture. The techniques they use have been successful at reducing employing turnover, improving patient satisfaction, reducing infections, and improving employee morale and hospital profitability. To help hospital leaders who want to reduce their readmission rates and improve other factors through permanent culture change, LifeWings is offering a 13-Point Guide with step-by-step directions on how to assess their culture to make measurable, sustainable improvements.
Steve Harden, the CEO of LifeWings, stated that, "We have known for over a decade how critical culture and environment are to improving hundreds of safety issues. That is the payoff to an effective culture-change program; it's not just the hospital's infection or mortality rate that improves, it's everything. Our clients have measured the results of their programs and have concluded that a better culture lifts all safety measures, including costly and destructive readmissions."
Download this guide and learn 13 specific items to assess the effectiveness of your efforts to create high performing teams in your organization.
About LifeWings:
LifeWings Partners creates documented, sustainable improvements in cost reduction, efficiency, reliability, safety, and quality by combining the best of Lean and TeamSTEPPS.LifeWings has improved the financial bottom line and patient safety record of over 140 hospitals worldwide. The LifeWings coaching cadre of pilots, astronauts, physicians, nurses and Toyota-trained Lean experts train more than 13,000 administrators, physicians and staff per year. Measurable results are guaranteed in all LifeWings’ initiatives. Documented return on investment for LifeWings projects typically exceeds 300%. To find out more, please visit http://www.saferpatients.com or https://www.facebook.com/LifeWingsSaferPatients or follow us on Twitter @LifeWingsLLC.
Stephen Harden, Lifewings Partners, LLC, +1 (901) 457-7505, [email protected]
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