Hospitals made the most progress on central line-associated bloodstream infections as they curbed hospital-acquired conditions by 17% from 2010 to 2013, federal officials say.
The 2010 baseline rates were established with the launch of the Partnership for Patients, a public-private collaboration organized around the goal of reducing preventable hospital-acquired conditions by 40%.
Hospitals achieved the biggest reduction in central line-associated bloodstream infections, which Dr. Don Goldmann, chief medical and science officer for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, said might be because providers and patient-safety experts had already been focusing intensely on such infections (CLABSI).
The largest impacts on costs averted and lives saved came from the reductions in pressure ulcers and adverse drug events, according to a report on the progress published by the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality.
Pressure ulcers, according to the report, are associated with an excess mortality rate of 72 deaths per 1,000 patients and excess costs of $17,000 per case. Drug events carry an additional mortality rate of 20 deaths per 1,000 and excess costs of $5,000 per case.
Although hospitals achieved the biggest reduction in rate of CLABSI, the biggest portion of the 1.3 million fewer HACs was attributed to the reduction in adverse drug events. AHRQ estimated that the decline in drug events accounted for nearly 44% of that sum.
