Each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control, some two million Americans acquire an infection while they are in a hospital. Of these patients, some 90,000 will die of that infection.  There are solutions to this, but the primary one, consistent hand washing, has proven virtually impossible to implement.

As everyone knows by now, CMS will no longer reimburse hospitals for costs associated with a patient who gets sick while in the hospital, which adds fresh urgency to stemming the tide of hospital acquired infections. To help hospitals get ahead of this crisis, IHM will, later this winter, launch a daily report service called “Infection Alert.”

Six IHM hospitals across the country are currently receiving these reports, which provide an overview of which patients in which areas of the hospital are at highest risk of infection. 

IHM’s goal is that Infection Alert will enable infection control practitioners—every morning—to prioritize case review based on clinical attributes, to find infection patterns and to take action more rapidly.

I’d like to invite you to attend a webinar on this new product, hosted by our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Anita Karcz.

As always, I’ll be eager to hear what you think. And here’s for a Happy and Healthy 2008.

All the best,

John H. Knowles, Jr.
Executive Director
jknowles@healthmetrics.org

On October 17, 2007, IHM hosted its second annual quality symposium. Speakers included Nancy Kane, a MEDPAC Advisory Board Member as well as Professor of Management at Harvard School of Public Health. In addition, three hospital CMOs gave practical advice on what works to improve quality. In this newsletter, we present highlights from the meeting.

Improving Quality in American Health Care: What is Working Today?

Across any number of measures, the American health care system is sick, especially when compared to the health care systems of other countries. Hospitals are at the forefront of the charge for change, but what really works to improve quality? What day-to-day steps can hospitals take to respond to performance improvement challenges? Read More...

An excerpt from Nancy Kane
Medicare: Policy Alternatives to Address Major Financing and Delivery System Challenges

Medicare was originally signed into law on July 30, 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1965, the life expectancy was 70.2 years, and the leading causes of death were acute illnesses, such as fatal heart attack, stroke, or injury. Now, in the 21st century, the healthcare needs of elders have changed. Life expectancy has increased to 77.9 years, and instead of dying from acute episodes of disease, today’s elders require management for chronic disease and often more than one disease or condition. In line with this, Medicare costs are exploding. In 2006, Medicare spending was $330 billion dollars, accounting for 12% of the federal budget. “Medicare was never designed with chronic disease in mind,” said Kane. “With current rates of growth, by 2040, and probably even earlier, the entire federal budget will be consumed with Medicare spending, Social Security spending and paying off interest on the national debt.” Read More...

IHM Webinar Series

Getting Ahead of Hospital Acquired Infection—The IHM Solution

This webinar is for hospital clinical leaders interested in learning more about IHM's new Infection Alert daily reports. Infection Alert is proactive: daily reports identify patients with new abnormal clinical parameters, such as temperature and white blood count, which may be early indicators of infection.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM EST
Registration

Monday, January 28, 2008
 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM EST
Registration

New Physician Credentialing Standards—The IHM Solution

IHM’s Physician Quality Management System (PQMS) automatically extracts and organizes data already in your MEDITECH system to help you, as a hospital leader, profile and credential your medical staff. By automating this process, IHM can vastly accelerate and improve the comprehensiveness, validity and efficiency of your physician profiling and management activities.

Friday, January 18, 2008
1:00 PM - 1:30 PM EST
Registration

Please email Stephanie.Walsh@healthmetrics.org if you are interested in receiving more information.

About Us

The Institute for Health Metrics (IHM) is a non-profit organization which supports hospitals with information, education and services to improve hospital performance and create positive changes in care delivery.

Started as a research initiative, IHM now provides innovative clinical information, specifically to Meditech hospitals, for: Physician & Department Profiling, Quality of Care Reporting, JCAHO Core Measures, IHI, and AHRQ, Performance Improvement, Benchmarking, and Strategic Planning.

For additional information, please contact Stephanie Walsh at Stephanie.Walsh@healthmetrics.org

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