AHA: Hospitals improve patient safety measures above pre-pandemic levels
Between 2022 and 2023, care denials increased 20.2% for commercial claims and 55.7% for Medicare Advantage, says another AHA report.
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The American Hospital Association has released a report finding that hospital and health system performance on key patient safety and quality measures was better in the first quarter of 2024 than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hospitals cared for more patients in the first quarter of 2024 than in the last quarter of 2019, and provided care to a sicker, more complex patient population, the report said.
Despite patients being sicker and having more complex conditions, in the first quarter of 2024, hospitalized patients were on average over 20% more likely to survive than expected, given the severity of their illnesses, compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the report.
Hospitals' central line-associated bloodstream infections and catheter-associated urinary tract infections in the first quarter of 2024 were at rates lower than those recorded in 2019.
Preventive health screenings rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, showing a 60%-to-80% increase in breast, colon and cervical cancer screenings compared to 2019.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The data shows hospitals' efforts to improve safety led to 200,000 Americans that were hospitalized between April 2023 and March 2024 surviving episodes of care they wouldn't have in 2019, according to the AHA.
Healthcare-services company Vizient provided the risk-adjusted analysis of hospital data from the fourth quarter of 2019 through the first quarter of 2024. The data came from 715 general acute care hospitals across 49 states and the District of Columbia.
"The recent findings from the American Hospital Association highlight the critical role of data in understanding hospital performance on essential patient safety and quality measures," said Vizient Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Levine.
Another recent AHA report showed an increase in administrative costs caused in part by what the AHA called burdensome practices by commercial insurers to delay and deny patient care. Between 2022 and 2023, care denials increased an average of 20.2% and 55.7% for commercial and Medicare Advantage claims, respectively, the report said.
The data from Strata Decision Technology found that administrative costs account for more than 40% of the total expenses hospitals incur in delivering care to patients.
"Many hospitals and health systems are forced to dedicate staff and clinical resources to appeal and overturn inappropriate denials, which alone can cost billions of dollars every year," the report said
THE LARGER TREND
In 2023, the AHA launched a Patient Safety Initiative, a collaborative, data-driven effort that helps hospitals and health systems work together to reinforce and accelerate patient safety efforts. The initiative provides hospitals with tools and data to advance patient safety, offers a platform for sharing their stories of improvement with peers, and highlights examples of applicable innovation that support, spread and sustain safety improvement.
Vizient, headquartered in Irving, Texas, serves more than 65% of the nation's acute care providers, including 97% of the nation's academic medical centers and more than 35% of the nonacute market. Vizient acquired Kaufman Hall in 2024, expanding its advisory services.
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