Premier collaborative saved 136,000 lives, $11.65 billion, report finds

More than 350 hospitals across the U.S. collectively saved $11.65 billion and prevented 136,375 deaths during the past five years by adhering to evidence-based standards for best practices, according to a report released Thursday by Premier.

The hospitals were all a part of the company's QUEST collaborative, a national quality improvement program started in 2008, which requires members to use proven methods of quality, safety and efficiency based on standards set by observing the program's top performing healthcare providers. According to the report, participants were also able to:

• Prevent 40,808 readmissions since 2011, particularly in patients with heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sepsis, pneumonia and kidney and urinary tract infections.
• Prevent 17,991 potential patient safety events since 2010, such as problems associated with central line-associated bloodstream infection, falls, pressure ulcers and ventilator acquired pneumonia.
• Improve patient experience scores by 4%.

Premier said the performances outpaced national averages to the degree that $21 billion would have been saved last year if all U.S. hospitals had adopted QUEST standards.

The findings also note that hospitals participating in QUEST were able to provide all recommended care measures at least 96% of the time. As hospitals across the nation attempt to improve ratings and have better outcomes, several studies are finding that getting clinicians to follow through on adopted evidence-based standards is a significant challenge.

Premier's QUEST collaboration served as a blueprint for Medicare's hospital value-based purchasing program initiated by the CMS Services in October 2012 under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Payment adjustments, up or down as much as 1.25%, are based on hospitals' performance across two dozen measures of clinical processes, patient satisfaction, and outcomes.

The QUEST collaborative aligns with the standards in the program, and Premier says hospitals that are members are 33% more likely to win bonuses than hospitals that are not.

Follow Sabriya Rice on Twitter: @MHSRice