LifeWings Helping Hospitals Protect Their Bottom Line Without Compromising Patient Safety
Collierville, Tennessee (PRWEB) August 17, 2013 -- LifeWings Partners LLC has developed an economic success kit to help hospitals survive the Affordable Care Act reimbursement changes. The new ACA payment methodology ties provider's pay directly to quality of care. Hospitals that don't reach certain safety and quality benchmarks will get less pay for the care they provide. The LifeWings ACA financial success kit helps hospitals preserve their income by combining Lean process improvement with TeamSTEPPS to drive out waste while also delivering a safe care that meets the required quality standards.
The ACA FINANCIAL SUCCESS KIT was created by a team of physicians, nurses, former NASA astronauts, and pilots who have melded together the best practices of high reliability organizations such as U.S. commercial aviation and military nuclear power. Over the last 12 years, LifeWings has used process improvement and safety tools to dramatically change the culture of 140 health care organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Clients include the medical centers of Rush University, Ohio State University, UCLA, Vanderbilt, SSM, Miami Children’s, and Wake Forest just to name a few. These are all award-winning, "Top 100" U.S. News & World Report hospitals.
The LifeWings financial success kit helps hospitals create a culture of safety and accountability that ensures maximized reimbursement under the new payment scheme, called Value Based Purchasing. As a result of LifeWings training, hospitals create the type of inter-disciplinary, cross-checking, mutually-supportive culture that ensures they will reach their target of 100% compliance with all safety and quality metrics such as those for central line infections, core measures, medication safety, healthcare associated infections, fall prevention, and others.
The LifeWings process is not a quick fix, one-time training session. The improvements are measurable and sustainable. For example, a hospital that recently implemented the ACA Financial Success Kit in perioperative services was able to document these improvements:
• Improved: OR On‐Time Starts = 100%, a 51% improvement;
• OR Room Turn Over Time = 23.9 Min, a 35% improvement;
• OR Anti‐Biotic Timing Compliance = 97% a 1% improvement;
• DSU Holding Wait Time = 0.0 Min (Eliminated This Step);
• DSU patient Prep Time = 30.4 Min, a 31% improvement;
• PAT Phone Interview Time = 29.6 Min , a 27% improvement;
• Case Readiness 72 Hrs. Out = 28.6%, a 60% improvement.
These improvements created a savings of over $2 million annually.
Captain Steve Harden, LifeWings CEO, says, "Financial survival is critical to hospital
executives, so much so that sometimes it is driving safety concerns to the back burner. With the ACA financial success kit, administrators don't have to choose margin over safety. They can concentrate on both. Our system produces financial stability and patient protection—which is always the real bottom line --- Protecting the lives of patients."
Visit the LifeWings website at http://www.SaferPatients.com/patient-safety-success-stories.htm, for more detailed information, documented results, and specific hospital case studies.
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 typically exceeds 300%. To find out more, please visit http://www.saferpatients.com or https://www.facebook.com/LifeWingsSaferPatients, or follow us on Twitter @SaferPatients.
Stephen Harden, Lifewings Partners, LLC, 901-457-7505, [email protected]
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