Hospital-acquired conditions are a primary concern for healthcare organizations and IT plays a major role in protecting patients from medical errors, nosocomial-borne pathogens, co-morbidities and other acute care complications.
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin launched a safety program two years ago to address that very problem.
“For years we looked at these conditions and wondered why they aren’t prevented,” said Abby Dexter, director of business intelligence and data warehousing at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. “Our Board of Directors and leadership team believed in this initiative and with the help of other pediatric organizations, we got the ball rolling.”
The result? Children’s initiative created a 30 percent reduction in overall HACs and saved the hospital $1.6 million.
Through the safety program Children’s also reduced central line associated blood stream infections by 77 percent, cut pressure ulcers 74 percent, and reduced venous thromboembolisms 68 percent.
Additionally, the organization ensured that all of its 4,500 employees completed error prevention training.
Given the success of the HAC program, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin is looking to expand it and add new focus areas, Dexter said.
“Without data and information at the bedside to inform how care is provided and data is utilized, those pieces aren’t powerful on their own,” Dexter said. “But through a partnership we can provide meaningful information for the caregivers to impact how they can provide the care.”
Dexter and her colleague Holly O'Brien, safety program manager, will outline how the organization instituted its safety program that uses analytics and data at the patient bedside, discuss the successes and challenges as well as lessons learned during the two years the program has been operating.
The session “How Data-Driven Safety Culture Changes Can Lower HAC Rates,” is slated for Thursday, Feb. 23, at 10:30 a.m. in Room 311E of the Orange County Convention Center.
This article is part of our ongoing coverage of HIMSS17. Visit Destination HIMSS17 for previews, reporting live from the show floor and after the conference.
