Patient safety is a top priority at HealthPlus of Michigan. We encourage our members to actively participate in their personal health care and that of their families. The following are some organizations also working to improve patient safety. HealthPlus recommends visiting the organizations' respective websites for detailed information on this very important issue.
The Leapfrog Group
Composed of more than 160 public and private organizations that provide health care benefits, The Leapfrog Group works with medical experts throughout the U.S. to identify problems and propose solutions it
believes will improve hospital systems that could break down and harm patients. Representing approximately 37 million health care consumers in all 50 states, Leapfrog provides important information
and solutions for consumers and health care providers.
The Leapfrog Group‘s mission is to trigger giant “leaps” forward in the safety, quality and affordability of health care by:
- Supporting informed health care decisions by those who use and pay for health care and,
- Promoting high–value health care through incentives and rewards
The Leapfrog Group identified certain hospital quality and safety practices as the focus of its health care provider performance comparisons and hospital recognition and reward program. Leapfrog constituents believe if all hospitals implemented just three of Leapfrog’s four “leaps” over 57,000 lives per year could be saved and more than 3 million medication errors could be avoided. Based on independent scientific evidence, the quality practices are:
Computer Physician Order Entry (CPOE): With CPOE systems, hospital staff enter medication orders via computer linked to prescribing error prevention software. CPOE has been shown to reduce serious prescribing errors in hospitals by more than 50 percent.
Evidence-Based Hospital Referral (EHR): Consumers and health care purchasers should choose hospitals with extensive experience and the best results with certain high-risk surgeries and conditions. Leapfrog promotes referring patients needing certain complex medical procedures to hospitals offering the best survival odds based on scientifically valid criteria, such as the number of times a hospital performs these procedures each year or other process or outcomes data. Research indicates that a patient's risk of dying could be reduced by 40 percent.
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Physician Staffing (IPS): Staffing ICUs with doctors who have special training in critical care medicine, called ”intensivists,“ has been shown to reduce the risk of patients dying in the ICU by 40 percent.
Leapfrog Safe Practices Score:
In 2004, Leapfrog added the National Quality Forum (NQF) Safe Practices to its list of patient safety initiatives. The NQF endorsed safe practices cover a range of practices that, if utilized, would reduce the risk of harm in certain processes, systems or environments of care. The National Quality Forum Safe Practices include 34 “common-sense” practices, such as:
- Creating a culture of safety whereby hospital employees can report safety issues and work towards improvements without blame.
- Pharmacists being available for consultation with prescribers on medication ordering, interpretation, and overall medication use.
- Recording of verbal orders with read back to the prescriber.
- Hand washing with either a hygienic hand rub or a disinfectant soap prior to direct contact with the patient and objects around the patient.
Leapfrog will publish ratings of local hospital based on responses to all of the Leapfrog measurers, including the NQF. While Leapfrog does not expect all hospitals to meet each one of the NQF guidelines, it encourages hospitals to adopt new practices and update results at any time during the year.
For more information about Leapfrog, including a full list of the NQF safe practices, check out the Leapfrog or NQF websites at www.leapfroggroup.org or www.qualityforum.org.
To use the Leapfrog Web site's Quality and Safety Survey Results search tool, click here.
Department of Health and Human Services – Hospital Compare
THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. Hospital Compare is a tool that provides you with information on how well the hospitals in your area care for all their adult patients with certain medical conditions. Hospital Compare was created through the efforts of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with organizations representing consumers, hospitals, doctors, employers, accrediting organizations, and other Federal agencies. The information on the Hospital Compare website has been provided primarily by hospitals that have agreed to submit quality information for Hospital Compare to make public.
Through Hospital Compare, you can compare hospitals in your area on the care of:
- Heart Attack
- Heart Failure
- Pneumonia
- Surgical Care Improvement / Surgical Infection Prevention
Talk to your doctor about this information to help you, your family and your friends make your best hospital care decisions. To access Hospital Compare, click here.
The Michigan Health & Safety Coalition
The Michigan Health & Safety Coalition (MH&SC) is a collaborative quality improvement effort focused on improving patient safety in Michigan. The mission of the coalition is to help improve health care quality in Michigan through cost-effective improvements in patient safety, including medical errors, across all health care settings.
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm invited the Michigan Health and Safety Coalition (MH&SC) to accept the role of the State Commission on Patient Safety. The commission was created by PA 119-04, enacted in 2004. MH&SC is honored to be selected to serve the State of Michigan in this capacity and accepted the invitation at its meeting of September 8. The commission has been conducting public hearings and will write a report containing recommendations for improvements in medical practice and a system for reducing errors, both in health facilities and in private practice.
MH&SC membership is diverse, and includes representatives from health care plans, health care providers, and employer and union groups. The goal of the coalition is to improve the safety of health care for Michigan residents. For more information on the Michigan Health & Safety Coalition and its efforts to improve patient safety, visit its website at www.mihealthandsafety.org.
View patient safety and other information on Michigan hospitals.
The Michigan Hospital Association
The Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) is a statewide leader representing all of the community hospitals on Michigan. Established in 1919, the MHA represents the interests of its member hospitals and health systems in both the legislative and regulatory arenas on key issues and supports their efforts to provide quality, cost-effective care. The mission of MHA is to advocate for the hospitals and patients they serve.
The MHA continually provides a strategic assessment of emerging health care trends to help its members develop a framework to meet current and future needs of their communities. The association’s strategic plan is divided into 5 “platforms”, including Patient Access, Quality of Care, Community Health Improvement, Mission-driven Funding and Best Information.
For more information on MHA, visit its website at www.mha.org.
Other Resources
More patient safety information is available from:
Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Joint Commission on Accreditation of HealthCare Organizations