INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Indiana hospitals have made great strides in their journey to improve the care patients receive, according to results released today by the Indiana Hospital Association (IHA). Hospital quality improved in such areas as early elective deliveries, pressure ulcers and adverse drug events. Over the course of the last year, more than 3,751 harms have been prevented with associated cost savings of more than $32 million.

Some highlights from the findings show:

• Over 1,200 readmissions were prevented;
  
• More than 1,800 adverse drug events were prevented;
  
• Nearly 100 early elective deliveries were prevented.

In September 2015, IHA partnered with the American Hospital Association/Health Research & Educational Trust, which is one of 17 hospital engagement networks continuing efforts in reducing preventable hospital-acquired conditions and readmissions. Through the Partnership for Patients initiative – a nationwide public-private collaboration that began in 2011 to reduce preventable hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and 30-day readmissions by 20 percent – IHA participated in the second round of hospital engagement networks to continue working to improve patient care in the hospital setting. In addition, a focus on “person and family engagement” promoted the involvement of patients as active partners in their care.

“The Indiana Hospital Association has been honored to lead a hospital engagement network in Indiana. Working closely with hospitals, doctors, nurses and other health care providers, we have proudly supported efforts to keep Hoosiers safe, improve care and reduce costs,” said Doug Leonard, president of IHA. “When it comes to patient safety, Indiana hospitals don’t compete with one another – they collaborate to share best practices, address regional needs and work together on quality improvements for the sake of their patients and the communities they serve.”

Participating hospitals worked to improve care in more than 10 patient safety areas of focus, such as early elective deliveries and pressure ulcers. Staff participated in educational meetings, webinars and other coaching opportunities to increase improvement capacity and provided data tracking and reporting for each topic to encourage further awareness and monitoring.

“The latest results from the Hospital Engagement Network 2.0 effort are outstanding and highlight the success that quality improvement professionals can make within their hospitals and health systems,” said Karin Kennedy, administrative director of the Indiana Patient Safety Center.

IHA continues to support statewide quality improvement efforts to achieve the shared goal of making care safer and more patient-centered. At 97, Indiana had the third highest number of participating hospitals with the AHA/HRET Hospital Engagement Network 2.0.

“The Hospital Engagement Network 2.0 has allowed Indiana hospitals to continue improving health care safety across the state,” said Carolyn Konfirst, clinical director of the Indiana Patient Safety Center. “IHA commends the leaders and staff of each of the 97 hospitals for their dedication and tireless efforts to improving patient care and outcomes that resulted in tremendous success throughout this program.”

In 2006, the Indiana Patient Safety Center (IPSC) was created as a division of the IHA to engage and inspire health care providers to create cultures of patient safety and reliable systems of care within their organizations in order to prevent patient harm on a statewide level. IHA and the IPSC, together, continue to support efforts of quality improvement and patient safety through 11 regional patient safety coalitions throughout the state of Indiana.