Under the Partnerships for Patients program, a component of an effort funded by the ACA, the government has been encouraging hospitals to improve quality and reduce costs. The Indiana Hospital Association received a grant which allowed them to hire more staff and to work to improve patient safety in 11 areas, according to an Indianapolis Business Journal report.
Here are nine things to know about the state of quality and costs in healthcare as it pertains to Indiana hospitals:
1. Over the past three years, 116 Indiana hospitals cut nearly 4,700 patient harms.
2. This harm reduction saved $22.3 million over three years, which was part of the coordinated Partnerships for Patients program.
3. Close to half the savings resulted from readmission prevention.
4. Indiana focused to transition patients to facilities such as nursing homes and private care settings.
5. The hospital saved $2 million by preventing 110 venous thromboembolisms, or blood clots, which can result in death and serious harm.
6. The hospitals did not only work internally, but instead, were a part of regional coalitions with other hospitals participating in the program.
7. To put the numbers in perspective, Indianapolis Business Journal points to the $50 billion Hoosiers (Indiana Medicaid) spends on hospital care over a three-year period.
8. The savings are "less than one-tenth of 1 percent of annual hospital spending."
9. Programs like this do not address the larger ways in which hospitals and physicians can harm patients, such as over-testing, over-medicating and over-treating.
More on infection control & quality:
5 key quotes from NPSF president on patient safety culture
5 things to know about disinfecting robot's performance at Renown Health
Ebola found in American physicians' eye after being cleared: 4 things to know
