AHRQ Report: Hospital-Acquired Conditions Continue to Decline, Saving Lives and Costs

AHRQ Report: Hospital-Acquired Conditions Continue to Decline, Saving Lives and Costs

AHRQ Report:  Hospital-acquired Conditions Continue to Decline, Saving Lives and Costs

The Department of Health and Human Services released an AHRQ report today showing that an estimated 87,000 fewer patients died in hospitals and nearly $20 billion in health care costs were saved as a result of reductions in hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) from 2010 to 2014. The report indicates that HACs were reduced by 17 percent in 2014, contributing to an overall reduction of 2.1 million HACs since 2010. To develop the report Saving Lives & Saving Money: Hospital-Acquired Conditions Update, AHRQ analyzed the incidence of avoidable HACs compared to 2010 rates, using as a baseline estimates of deaths and excess health care costs that were developed when the Partnership for Patients was launched.  AHRQ’s analysis included a number of HACs including adverse drug events, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line associated bloodstream infections, pressure ulcers, and surgical site infections, among others. AHRQ has produced a variety of tools and resources to help hospitals and other providers prevent hospital-acquired conditions, such as reducing infections, pressure ulcers, and falls. Recently the Toolkit for Reducing CAUTI in Hospitals was released, which is based on the experiences of more than 1,200 hospitals nationwide that participated in an AHRQ-funded project to apply the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program to reducing catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). This new report updates data released in December 2014.