Improving Our Way Out
Rich Umbdenstock, AHA President and CEO
Doing more with less is a fact of life for every hospital today. Demographic and economic factors, from the aging population and the rise in health care spending to the nation's deficit woes, point to continuing challenges for hospitals in the years ahead. The strategy that holds out the greatest promise for success: improvements … in care, utilization and outcomes. That's why AHA's Health Research & Educational Trust, under a contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Partnership for Patients campaign, is working with 33 state hospital associations to support targeted improvement efforts in almost 2,000 hospitals. The project will support hospitals in adopting best practices that have the potential to reduce inpatient harm by 40% and readmissions by 20% - achievements that would lead to better outcomes for patients and hospitals' performance profiles. Now, that's real improvement … not to mention a huge improvement over ongoing payment cuts.
|
