Wisconsin Patients Can Check Hospital Safety Online

New Web resource helps patients make informed decisions

New information to help assess the safety and quality of hospital care is just a click away for consumers in Wisconsin. The Web site – www.qualitycounts.org – shows the progress urban hospitals are making on three standards proven to reduce medical errors and save lives. (Once you get to the Quality Counts Web site, click on "Leapfrog Results").

Urban hospitals across the state were asked to complete a survey by Wisconsin Healthcare Purchasers for Quality (WHPQ), a network of employers and health care purchasers who are working to make information on the quality of health care more readily available to the public. To date, 77.6% of urban Wisconsin hospitals (38 of 49) have completed the survey.

"By participating in the survey, Wisconsin hospitals are sharing important information with the public about the steps they are taking to improve health care safety," said Cheryl DeMars, director of Quality for The Alliance and spokesperson for WHPQ. "With health care costs on the rise, employers are increasingly encouraging employees to be active consumers of health care as a way to improve quality and help control costs. This information is a good starting point."

Nationwide, medical errors result in as many as 98,000 preventable deaths each year, according to the Institute of Medicine. Research conducted by John D. Birkmeyer, M.D., Dartmouth Medical School, indicates that these three standards could save nearly 60,000 lives per year, and prevent more than half a million serious medication errors if all urban hospitals in the United States implemented them. In addition, the U.S. health care system could save approximately $9.7 billion annually.

The survey asked hospitals whether they have implemented or plan to implement the following three standards:

1. Computerized Drug Orders: Physicians enter patient prescriptions and other orders into computers linked to error prevention software. Studies show that computerized drug ordering systems can reduce serious medication mistakes by up to 88%.
   • In Wisconsin, 2.7% of hospitals in the survey have computerized drug ordering systems in place, but an additional 21.6% plan to implement them by 2005.
2. Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Staffing: Studies show that patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) have higher survival rates if they are treated by physicians specially trained in critical care medicine (intensivists). Staffing ICUs with intensivists at least eight hours per day reduces the chances of dying by 29%.
   • In Wisconsin, 16.7% of hospitals in the survey have intensivists overseeing care in the ICU at least eight hours a day. Another 5.6% plan to achieve this goal by 2004.
3. High Risk Treatments: Patients undergoing certain high-risk treatments increase their chances of survival if they are treated by hospitals that perform these procedures more often and follow proven processes of caring for patients. The results for urban hospitals in Wisconsin are summarized in the table below.

"No Wisconsin hospitals meet all of the safety practices today," said DeMars. "These practices are on the cutting edge of quality improvement, and very few hospitals in the country have implemented them all. However, they have enormous potential to reduce preventable injuries, save lives and reduce costs. On behalf of our employees and their families, we have an obligation to push for safer, higher-quality care."

The survey results for Wisconsin hospitals are part of a national survey effort of The Leapfrog Group. Wisconsin is one of 22 regions reporting results for urban hospitals.

About Wisconsin Healthcare Purchasers for Quality (WHPQ)
WHPQ is a network of Wisconsin businesses and allies with a strong commitment to creating and promoting widely available, uniform, comparative information on health care cost, quality and patient safety. Members of WHPQ include: The Alliance, the Business Healthcare Group of Southeast Wisconsin, CARE Coalition, City of Milwaukee, DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Jabas Group, Quad Graphics, Inc., Wausau Benefits, WEA Trust, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds.

About The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group is a growing consortium of Fortune 500 companies and other large private and public healthcare purchasers, including many members of Wisconsin Healthcare Purchasers for Quality. Leapfrog's mission is to trigger significant improvements in quality, customer service and affordability of health care. More than 577,000 Wisconsin residents receive their health benefits through an employer or health plan that belongs to Leapfrog.

Frequently Asked Questions (this is a pdf file)

Posted October 15, 2003