November 20, 2023- More than ten years ago, hospitals affiliated with Community Health Systems, Inc. embarked on an important safety journey to deliver better outcomes for patients, reduce risk and liability and build trust in the communities they serve. Since then, the hospitals have achieved and maintained an 89% reduction in their Serious Safety Event Rate.
Today, NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery, a peer-reviewed journal from the publishers of the New England Journal of Medicine dedicated to the latest innovations, big ideas and practical solutions for health care delivery transformation, recognized CHS’ accomplishments in an article published in its December issue.
The article chronicles the deployment of specific high-reliability leadership methods, human-error prevention behaviors, and a structured approach to cause analysis that directly resulted in reductions in medication errors, patient falls, healthcare-associated infections, procedural errors and other serious safety events.
CHS was one of the first healthcare organizations in the nation to create an AHRQ federally listed Patient Safety Organization, or PSO, to enable ongoing conversations and data analysis in a legally-protected environment to identify opportunities for continuous improvement. Through the PSO, CHS established a safety base-line in 2012 and began its journey to zero preventable harm.
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