Reducing harm from a wide range of hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent, and reducing all-cause 30-day readmissions by 20 percent by December 2013, are ambitious goals launched by the Partnership for Patients and the Hospital Engagement Network in 2011.
An article in the March 2 issue of Modern Healthcare by Maureen McKinney reports that the hospitals engaged in the $1 billion federal campaign are making significant progress toward the December 2013 goals.
Dennis Wagner, co-director of the campaign, noted a 48 percent reduction in early elective deliveries among a cohort of 681 hospitals. In addition, the national rate of all-cause 30-day readmissions declined from 19 percent to 17.8 percent. Campaign leaders are optimistic about the trends in harm rates.
The Kansas Hospital Engagement Network has 92 hospitals actively engaged in the initiative. Twelve Kansas hospitals are participating in all applicable topics, reporting baseline and monthly data.