About Patient Safety
Up to 98,000 Americans die each year from medical errors they experienced
during hospitalizations, according to the Institute of Medicine's report
To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System (IOM, 1999)
(To Err is Human). This does not include harm
from mistakes made in outpatient settings. Either way, there are more
deaths in hospitals each year than there are from vehicle accidents, breast
cancer, or AIDS.
Improving patient safety is an industry-wide initiative, with research,
regulations and actions taking place on multiple fronts. A summary of
the many initiatives can be found in our white paper on patient safety
(link to the white paper).The major accrediting bodies are adopting patient
safety standards to integrate into their requirements. At this time, the
role and relationship between managed care and those providing direct
care are under discussion within several key bodies. Currently, direct care
providers are the targets of the patient safety measures. MCOs and MBHOs are not
direct providers of care, but do have a supporting role to help providers
improve safety.
Leapfrog
A leading group of Fortune 500 companies and other large health care purchasers
founded "The Leapfrog Group" (www.leapfroggroup.org)
to create a common set of purchasing principles to drive "leaps"
in patient safety.
The Leapfrog Group's goal is to mobilize employer purchasing power to
initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety and overall value of
healthcare to American consumers. It is a voluntary program aimed at mobilizing
large purchasers to alert the health care industry that big leaps in patient
safety and customer value will be recognized and rewarded with preferential
use and other intensified market reinforcements.
The Business Roundtable, a national association of Fortune 500 CEOs, sponsors
the Leapfrog Group.
Leapfrog purchasers are advancing three initial methods to improve patient
safety:
Computer Physician Order Entry (CPOE)
Evidence-based Hospital Referral (EHR)
ICU Physician Staffing (IPS)
According to the Leapfrog Group, initial selection of these three safety
standards does not imply lack of support for the many other important
methods of improving or assuring patient safety and intends to expand
this list as they identify other opportunities to improve safety.
Leapfrog purchasers will implement the following principles either directly
or through their health plans:
Use of Comparative Rating
Inform and Educate Employees
Use of Substantial IncentivesPatient Volume
Price
Public Recognition
Focus on Discrete Forward Leaps in Patient Safety
CPOE
Evidence-Based Hospital Referral
ICU Physician Staffing
Hold Health Plans Accountable for Leapfrog Implementation
Encourage the Support of Consultants and Brokers
RESOURCES
We recognize that roles and responsibilities, between and across organizations, vary when implementing patient safety initiatives and responding to the Leapfrog purchasing principles. Much of the initial confusion about implementation stems from the lack of clarity about the appropriate role for managed care and for direct care providers. The issue is still being debated in the industry.
As consultants with experience in managed care and direct care, we can help your organization examine the functions, activities and data available within your organization, which can serve as the building block for a patient safety program. We can assist in preparing your reply to RFPs and purchasers' inquiries about patient safety activities within your network. Our constant monitoring of all accreditation and regulatory requirements and the patient safety movement provides you with up-to-date information, at your fingertips.
