CHARLESTON, W.Va. – As part of an ongoing national effort to ensure healthcare systems work better for the American people and for the Medicare program, the West Virginia Hospital Association has been selected to continue its efforts in reducing preventable hospital-acquired conditions and readmissions.
The WVHA, in partnership with the American Hospital Association’s Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), is one of 16 national, regional, or state hospital associations, quality improvement organizations, and health system organizations selected to continue the prevention program. WVHA/HRET will participate in the efforts of the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks to continue working to improve patient care in the hospital setting.
“We have made significant progress in keeping patients safe – an estimated 2.1 million fewer patients harmed, 87,000 lives saved, and nearly $20 billion in cost-savings from 2010 to 2014 – and we are focused on accelerating improvement efforts,” said Patrick Conway, M.D., CMS acting principal deputy administrator and chief medical officer. “The work of the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks will allow us to continue to improve healthcare safety across the nation and reduce readmissions at a national scale – keeping people as safe and healthy as possible.”
The HIIN contracts awarded — to WVHA and the 15 other organizations – build upon the collective momentum of the Hospital Engagement Networks and Quality Improvement Organizations to reduce patient harm and readmissions.
Through 2019, these networks will work to achieve a 20 percent decrease in overall patient harm and a 12 percent reduction in 30-day hospital readmissions from the 2014 baseline. Efforts to address health equity for Medicare beneficiaries will be central to the HIIN efforts. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will monitor and evaluate the activities of the HIIN to ensure that they are generating results and improving patient safety.
The Partnership for Patients model is one of the first models established in 2011 to be tested under the authority of section 1115A of the Social Security Act (the Act) with the goal of reducing program expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care. Since the launch of the Partnership for Patients and the work of Hospital Engagement Networks in collaboration with many other stakeholders, the vast majority of U.S. hospitals have delivered results as demonstrated by the achievement of unprecedented national reductions in harm. CMS believes that the upcoming work of the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks, working as part of the Quality Improvement Organization’s work to improve patient safety and the quality of care in the Medicare program, will continue the great strides made in improving care provided to beneficiaries.
For more information on the Partnership for Patients and the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks, please visit: partnershipforpatients.cms.gov.
The WVHA, an association for hospitals and health systems, is a not-for-profit statewide organization representing 64 acute and specialty hospitals and health systems across the continuum of care. The WVHA supports its members in achieving a strong, healthy West Virginia by providing leadership in healthcare advocacy, education, information and technical assistance, and by being a catalyst for effective change through collaboration, consensus building, and a focus on desired outcomes.