Friday, April 9, 2010

Nine Factors Leading to Dramatically Reduced Mortality Rate

Bay Medical Center in Panama City, Florida, a client of Compirion Healthcare Solutions, has experienced a drop in their overall mortality rate by over 38% in just over two years. They went from 3.4 to 2.1 simply by focusing on the basics that when combined, can have a major impact on the quality of care. Their mortality rate for heart attack patients went from 15.7% to 15.1%, well below the national average of 16.1%. For heart failure the rate dropped from 9% to 7.4%, also below the national rate of 11.1%. And for pneumonia the rate remained steady at 8.5% which was already below the national rate of 11.4%. The process all started with something as basic as washing your hands. The nine areas of focus include:

1) Handwashing- A study revealed that only 25% of the staff washed their hands regularly between patients. Like most hospitals, the job of monitoring this fell to Infection Control. With Compirion's help this became the responsibility of the new Steering Team. Even the CEO was involved. With this level of scrutiny, compliance increased by 293% and remains at a level of 88-93%.

2) Blood Cultures prior to Antibiotics- Using a similar approach, compliance increased from 83% to 96%.

3) Pneumonia Vaccine- Compliance increased from 84% to 100%, which most hospitals would recognize as an amazing accomplishment.

4) Flu Vaccine- Compliance increased from 58% to 91%.

5) Reduced Throughput for ICU-bound ED Patients- Studies show that the mortality rate for patients waiting in the ED for more than 6 hours increases by 27%, so staying below this became a priority.

6) 24 Hour Chart Checks Missing- They found that 30-50% of the 24 hour chart checks were missed which led to longer length of stay.

7) Transcribed Physician Orders Missing- The numbers here were similar to the chart checks and had the same effect of lengthening stay.

8) Rapid Transport of Chest Pain Patinets To the Cath Lab- The connection here to lower mortality rate is obvious, but simplifying the complicated process that most hospitals have in place for this is an involved process. But through diligence, Bay Medical Center was able to streamline this process and save lives.

9) Rounding By All Levels of Hospital Staff- The last area is as basic as the first. Few people would associate this with an impact on mortality rates, but it works dramatically to change the culture and show real support for the staff who make the difference at your hospital.

Simply by focusing on the basics you can make a significant impact on the quality and safety of your hospital over time.

More on thei later.

Mark Brodeur

1 comment:

  1. You leave out any data around employee and patient satisfaction.

    ReplyDelete

 
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