tHospitals in Michigan saved more than $116 million in health care costs from 2011 to 2012 by implementing better practices that lead to improved health care safety and quality, while reducing costs, says a recently released report.
t“Michigan’s dedicated hospital leaders and clinical teams have saved thousands of lives, reduced infections, improved the culture of safety, and made Michigan hospitals among the safest in the country,” says Spencer Johnson, president of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association Keystone Center near East Lansing, which issued the report. “While these latest cost savings are significant, success is really measured one way: one healthy patient at a time.”
tThe annual MHA report said among the biggest cost-savers was the by applying the Michigan State Action on Avoidable Rehospitalizations project — which sought to reduce the number of patients who experience unplanned, related readmissions within 30 days of discharge. The program resulted in a nearly 5 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010 through the third quarter of 2012 and, in 2011, saved nearly $98 million.
tOther finding in the report include:
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- ttFrom 2010 through 2012, participating hospitals reduced the occurrence of early elective births by nearly 68 percent. Hospitals also reduced the number of babies admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit by 35 percent from the first quarter of 2010 through the first quarter of 2013, saving more than $16.5 million in health care costs from 2011 to 2012.
- ttParticipating hospitals reduced hospital-acquired pressure ulcers — also known as bedsores — by 37.5 percent from the second quarter of 2012 through the first quarter of 2013. In 2011, the effort saved $774,000.
- ttMichigan hospitals reduced the incidence of central-line-associated bloodstream infections by more than 50 percent, and reduced the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia by 60 percent from 2004 to 2012. Thee efforts saved nearly $1.2 million in health care costs in 2011.
- ttSurgery hospitals reduced the surgical specimen defect rate, which includes errors in labeling and ordering specimens, by more than 71 percent from the first quarter of 2010 through the first quarter of 2013. Additionally, a reduction in surgical-site infections saved $252,000 in 2011.
- ttDedicated hospitals reduced the mortality rate for septic patients by 37.6 percent from the second quarter of 2011 through the first quarter of 2013.
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tThe MHA Keystone Center was established in 2003 by Michigan hospitals across the state.
tTo read the full report, click here.
tIn other news released Tuesday, more Michigan physicians and other healthcare providers than ever before will be able to share medical records electronically under an agreement between the Great Lakes Health Information Exchange and Michigan Health Connect.
tThe collaboration between the state’s two largest providers of health information exchanges means that medical professionals treating about half the people in Michigan will have immediate access to vital medical information via a secure electronic network. More than 3,000 provider offices and 96 hospitals are involved.
