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Jeff Valentine
Phone: 1-800-914-NEWS (6397)
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Health Care Quality and Safety Background |
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In recent years, there has been growing national interest in developing new and innovative approaches to improving patient safety and the overall quality of health care. Numerous studies have revealed that there are systemic problems that lead to preventable deaths, poor health status and outcomes, and delays in treatment.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimates that $17 billion to $29 billion is unnecessarily spent each year as a result of shortcomings throughout the U.S. health care system. As part of CareFirst Commitment, the Board of Directors of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield approved a number of mission-related investments - including the launch of a Bridges to Excellence Program in partnership with physicians - that are designed to promote improvements in care quality and patient safety.
Other key factors driving regional and national quality and safety improvement initiatives:
- The IOM estimated in 1999 that 44,000 to 98,000 Americans die preventable deaths annually from medical errors. This represents greater loss of life than that attributable to causes such as breast cancer, AIDS or motor vehicle accidents
- IOM concluded medical knowledge is not translated into practice and that technology is often not applied safely or appropriately (Crossing the Quality Chasm, 2001)
- The Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (National Quality Healthcare Report, 2003) concluded that management of chronic diseases is far from optimal in the United States and that 20 percent of elderly Americans have received inappropriate or potentially harmful medications
- The New England Journal of Medicine (The Quality of Healthcare Delivered to Adults in the United States, 2003) concluded that only 55 percent of patients receive care recommended by national consensus clinical guidelines
- The lag between the discovery of more effective forms of treatment and their incorporation into routine patient care averages 17 years (Institute of Medicine)
- Care for more than 50 percent of patients with diabetes, hypertension, tobacco addiction, hyperlipidemia, congestive heart failure, asthma, depression and chronic atrial fibrillation is currently managed inadequately (Institute of Medicine)
For more information on health care quality and patient safety:
Institute of Medicine www.iom.edu
National Committee for Quality Assurance www.ncqa.org
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