MEDCOM is a partner in the Military Health System's Partnership for Patients Campaign and part of a broader national initiative that aims to reduce harm and improve care in health care facilities.
The MEDCOM Quality Management Division has been tasked with aligning efforts of MTFs with Partnership for Patients (PfP) key aims to reduce harm by 40% and reduce readmissions by 20%.
"We are pleased to be part of this broad initiative of our Military Health partners. Patient safety is something we advocate on a daily basis, this program mirrors our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible care while ensuring quality management to improve patient outcomes," said COL Kimberly Kesling, Army Patient Safety Program Manager, MEDCOM Quality Management Division.
Doctors, nurses and other health care providers in America work incredibly hard to deliver the best care possible to their patients. Unfortunately, an alarming number of patients are harmed by medical mistakes in the health care system and far too many die prematurely as a result.
In 2011, the Obama Administration launched the Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs, a new public-private partnership that will help improve the quality, safety, and affordability of health care for all Americans. The Partnership for Patients brings together leaders of major hospitals, employers, physicians, nurses, and patient advocates along with state and federal governments in a shared effort to make hospital care safer, more reliable, and less costly.
The two goals of this new partnership are to:
• Keep patients from getting injured or sicker. By the end of 2013, preventable hospital-acquired conditions would decrease by 40% compared to 2010. Achieving this goal would mean approximately 1.8 million fewer injuries to patients with more than 60,000 lives saved over three years.
• Help patients heal without complication. By the end of 2013, preventable complications during a transition from one care setting to another would be decreased so that all hospital readmissions would be reduced by 20% compared to 2010. Achieving this goal would mean more than 1.6 million patients would recover from illness without suffering a preventable complication requiring re-hospitalization within 30 days of discharge.
Achieving these goals will save lives and prevent injuries to millions of Americans, and has the potential to save up to $35 billion across the health care system, including up to $10 billion in Medicare savings, over the next three years. Over the next ten years, it could reduce costs to Medicare by about $50 billion and result in billions more in Medicaid savings. This will help put our nation on the path toward a more sustainable health care system.
For more information about MEDCOM's involvement in the Military Health System's Partnership for Patients Campaign, contact COL Kimberly Kesling, Army Patient Safety Program Manager, MEDCOM Quality Management Division.
Additional information is available at http://www.health.mil/dodpatientsafety/
For the full story on the Department of Health and Human Services Partnership for Patients program, visit Healthcare.gov at http://www.healthcare.gov/compare/partnership-for-patients/
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