IHA and its 200 member hospitals and health systems firmly believe in providing the highest level of safe, quality care to every patient. Whenever a serious event is discovered, hospitals initiate internal investigations, thoroughly analyzing the problem and determining what systems or processes need improvement to prevent future occurrences.
Serious complaints should be investigated. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services usually pays for an investigation if the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) communicates the case’s severity. In addition to IDPH, many other state agencies, as well as accrediting organizations such as the Joint Commission, conduct investigations of serious events at hospitals. Health care is an extremely regulated sector, second only to nuclear power plants.
IHA and hospitals strongly supported enactment of the state’s Adverse Health Care Events Reporting Law in 2005, requiring hospitals to report serious events, conduct root cause analyses and implement corrective action plans if necessary. Hospitals did not wait for the law’s implementation, but on their own, have been performing root cause analyses and implementing corrective plans when an incident occurs.
IHA’s Quality Care Institute offers safety and quality initiatives for hospitals including Preventing Readmissions through Effective Partnerships (in collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois) and Raising the Bar—a multi-year initiative—to substantially reduce readmissions and hospital-acquired conditions and infections. IHA’s “Illinois Hospitals Caring for You” website (www.illinoishospitals.org) provides consumers with quality performance results to compare hospitals against national indicators.
In addition, the Midwest Alliance for Patient Safety, a statewide Patient Safety Organization established by IHA and the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council with 71 participating hospitals, is working to improve patient care and outcomes through the sharing and evaluation of clinical experiences.
Illinois’ hospitals are unceasing in their commitment to providing the safest, highest quality care. IHA and its members look forward to a continued partnership with the state to ensure the safety and care of every patient in Illinois.
