North Shore-LIJ Health System Begins Online Posting of Hospital Infection Rates, Other Performance I...(he believes the healthcare industry need...),Health

Date:10/2/2007

he believes the healthcare industry needs to be more open with the public in sharing information and educating consumers. "Healthcare providers need to be more proactive in working with patients and families to help prevent infections and medical errors, and encouraging consumers to ask the right questions of their physicians and nurses," he said.

North Shore-LIJ has been recognized for the aggressive steps it has taken to reduce hospital-acquired infections, receiving the Healthcare Association of New York's (HANYS) prestigious Pinnacle Award in 2006. The health system is also an active participate in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) 5 Million Lives campaign, a national effort aimed at reducing preventable deaths and patient harm that occur in hospitals. The severity of the problem was highlighted in 1999, when the Institute of Medicine published an alarming report estimating that nearly 100,000 patients die every year due to medical errors and hospital-acquired infections. In addition to the IHI initiative, North Shore-LIJ is collaborating with the Greater New York Hospital Association to outline and implement infection prevention measures to decrease central line-related infections and C.difficile.

Joseph Conte, North Shore-LIJ's senior vice president of quality management, said more quality data will be added to the new Web site in the months ahead, including near misses -- errors that were prevented from reaching the patient because of built-in safety systems. In addition, North Shore-LIJ will be posting the patient satisfaction scores of its hospitals prior to the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) scheduled release of that information to the public in March 2008.

"Without a doubt, transparency is one of the future drivers of quality," said Mr. Conte, noting that the death rate among patients undergoing open- heart surgery has dropped by more than 80 percent since 1989, when the state began posting the risk-a
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SOURCE North Shore-LIJ Health System Copyright©2007 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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