Since 2008, when the initiative began, Quest hospitals have avoided 92,000 deaths and saved $9.1 billion in costs. Here are two strategies the hospitals used to reduce their mortality rates, according to the press release:
• Focus on sepsis. Data showed sepsis was the leading cause of deaths in excess of expected in 2008. By developing protocols to detect sepsis early and treat it appropriately in the emergency department, sepsis mortalities decreased 23 percent.
• Actively reduce harm rates. For example, Quest hospitals reduced central line-associated bloodstream infections by 59 percent, falls and pressure ulcers by 64 percent and catheter-associated urinary tract infections by 19 percent.
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