AHRQ National Scorecard: Hospital-acquired conditions drop 21 percent over a five year period

AHRQ National Scorecard: Hospital-acquired conditions drop 21 percent over a five year period

   

The National Scorecard on Rates of Hospital-Acquired Conditions shows that about 125,000 fewer patients died and more than $28 billion in health care costs were saved from 2010 through 2015 due to a 21 percent drop in hospital-acquired conditions (HACs). In total, hospital patients experienced more than 3 million fewer HACs from 2010 through 2015. HACs include adverse drug events, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line associated bloodstream infections, pressure ulcers and surgical site infections, among others. Much of the evidence on how to prevent HACs was developed and tested by AHRQ. For example, one of the tools used most frequently by hospitals is AHRQ’s Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP), which is a proven method that combines improvement in safety culture, teamwork and communications with evidence-based practices to prevent harm and make the care patients receive safer.

Read the press release and director's blog to learn more. Access AHRQ tools that helped hospitals achieve this progress. See the infographic.