Over the past three years, 108 hospitals in Wisconsin were able to improve care for more than 9,000 patients and avoid more than $87 million in healthcare costs, according to a report from the Wisconsin Hospital Association.
The hospitals were able to improve quality and cut healthcare costs by reducing avoidable hospital readmissions, decreasing infections and preventing medication errors.
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections were one of the hospitals' main improvement areas. By adhering to best practices for catheter insertion and identifying early on when a catheter is no longer needed, the hospitals drove down CAUTIs by 20 percent statewide from 2008 through 2014.
Additionally, by standardizing best practices with real-time monitoring, the hospitals were able to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections by 71 percent from 2008 through 2014.
"Wisconsin hospitals are demonstrating measurable and sustained progress toward improving care by adopting best practices, sharing what they have learned and working in teams," said Kelly Court, chief quality officer of WHA. "We still have work to do, but we have the improvement processes, determination and support to move us closer."
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