HHS unveiled the 10-year Partnership for Patients initiative, as means to prevent complications during patient care in a conference call Tuesday.
Department Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that the program could “help save lives by stopping preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years.”
The program’s goals are to “keep hospital patients from getting injured or sicker” by decreasing hospital-acquired infections 40% by 2013 and reducing complications and re-hospitalization during inter-facility transfers reduced by 20%.
“Throughout this voluntary, goal-oriented initiative, physicians will be encouraged to do everything they can to reduce adverse events and reduce readmissions,” said Cecil Wilson, M.D., AMA president.
“[For example] we know that if we ensure that a patient’s primary care physician receives their discharge papers within 24 hours of their release from the hospital, the likelihood of hospital readmission will be reduced,” Wilson said.
Partnership for Patients also has the potential to save up to $35 billion in health care costs, including up to $10 billion for Medicare in the next three years, Sebelius said. Over the next 10 years, the initiative could save Medicare $50 billion.
“Americans go the hospital to get well, but millions of patients are injured because of preventable complications and accidents,” she said. “Working closely with hospitals, doctors, nurses, patients, families and employers, we will support efforts to help keep patients safe, improve care, and reduce costs. Working together, we can help eliminate preventable harm to patients.”
HHS said it would use $1 billion made available by the PPACA for Partnership for Patients, half of which was through the Community-based Care Transitions Program.