TM Information Services - Medical and Technical Communications Consultants

The recent inaugural Patient, Safety, Science and Technology Summit challenged all those who work in hospitals, medtech companies, as well as individual doctors, executives and engineers to commit to achieving zero preventable patient deaths by the year 2020. This primary goal is reflective of the awful fact that every year there are over 200,000 preventable patient deaths in U. S. hospitals. To put this into perspective, the event’s founder explained that after 3,000 people were lost in the 9/11 tragedy, the federal office of Homeland Security was formed. There are more than 3,000 people a week being lost in U.S. hospitals, yet no “Patient Safety Security” department has been formed to declare war on these preventable deaths.

The Patient Safety Summit tore down walls between the colleagues present, identified challenges that are causing preventable deaths and provided recipes to address the challenges. Former President Clinton also joined the challenge, encouraging all present to make a commitment to zero preventable patient deaths by 2020, one hospital department at a time, one medical product at a time, one act of kindness and love at a time.

A few of the actionable commitments made by the clinical community participants to reduce preventable patient harm and deaths within our hospitals include: Preventing respiratory depression deaths from post-operative opioids, preventing infections in hospitalized patients, creating a proactive culture of patient safety, and preventing blood transfusion overuse.

The commitments made at the Patient Safety Summit signify an unprecedented success. In the words of one attendee, “For over a decade since I lost my daughter due to a failure to rescue event in a prestigious hospital, I have watched different organizations create patient safety meetings. While great minds were assembled, I could not feel that something tangible was going to come out of it. The Patient Safety Summit from the onset was totally different. With the first few words stated, the Summit took a group of people who were not sure they could work together, let alone trust each other, to realize it’s time to break down the walls between the entire healthcare industry to work together. By the first break, hospital representatives and corporate CEOs were lining up to make their commitments to achieve the goal of zero preventable deaths by 2020. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I was not alone, which is what everyone I spoke to said about the meeting. I can tell you that this is the first time people can see the light at the end of this tragic tunnel. It is the first time in 10 years I feel like I want to get up in the morning.”

***********************************

A way to stop the revolving door of hospital readmission for legions of frail Medicare recipients has recently been found in another effective solution to an important healthcare problem.

The newly formed Medicare Healthcare Corps utilizes ex-military medics, skilled in war zone medical care and trained as multi-taskers during stressful conditions, to use their skills helping to design and implement strategies that help these Medicare recipients manage their healthcare lives, and at the same time help these ex-military medics to find a valuable place in the civilian workforce.

This Medicare Healthcare Corps uses a three-pronged strategy: First, focus on “preventable readmission” of the frail elderly after being discharged from a hospital by monitoring their vital signs and helping them obtain and manage medications; second, work with these patients to help them get services needed to maximize their independence and keep them out of nursing homes, and thirdly, by serving as personal healthcare advocates Medicare Healthcare Corps professionals can answer questions to help Medicare patients navigate the hospital process and their future needs.

Early statistics show that the readmission rate for Medicare patients in states where their new program has been implemented has been reduced from 20.7% to 1.62%..

***********************************

Other articles of interest in this Spring 2013 TMIS eNewsletter:

* A new survey from The Atlantic shows that Americans rate themselves and their communities as healthy, despite research showing the opposite.

* A new survey from Cancer and Careers shows the majority of cancer patients and survivors want to continue working during and after treatment.

* Recent research findings into the key role that white blood cells play in immune response could lead to novel therapies for diseases or conditions in which the red blood cell production is thrown out of balance.

* Research in Clinical Chemistry shows that decreased levels of vitamin D may predispose smokers to developing tobacco-related cancer.

* A study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that patients who consume high-fat dairy products following breast cancer diagnosis increase their chances of dying from the disease years later.

* A report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shares insight into how hundreds of heart attacks across the U.S. could be prevented with a change in consumer thinking.

***********************************