IHI Launches Protecting 5 Million Lives from Harm Campaign
Today at 9:00 Donald Berwick President of IHI launched a campaign to reduce the harm and injuries caused in the delivery of healthcare in hospitals across the United States. Visit www.ihi.org for all the details. Berwick shared the rationale and calculations that estimate that there are 15 million injuries in American hospitals every year. This is a two year campaign.
On stage with Dr. Berwick were other leaders such as David Pryor, MD Senior Vice President, Clinical Excellence of Ascension Health, a leader in patient safety and quality. He supported the next phase of the campaign to reduce harm and save lives by saying: "Our biggest achievement has been that our efforts together can make a difference. I work with extraordinary people who are well on the way to achieving Ascension Health's goal of zero preventable deaths 18 months from now." For instance, "we have 80,000 births a year and 28 of our hospitals are reporting zero birth defects last year. The mortality rates at Ascension Health hospitals have fallen by 28% and that has saved 1500 lives a year. The looks on the faces of caregivers tell me the campaign goals are possible and are happening. Together we can make healthcare safe and better across the world."
Dr. Berwick charged the audience with mining internal resources and knowledge sources as a way to augment existing tools and recommendations. There is definite strength from within your own organization.
As you may know, that's what we do at Medical Alliances — we help healthcare organizations such as Ascension Health and Bon Secours Hospital System search for, find and share best practices and other internal resources. Why go outside your organization when you have so much untapped knowledge right there?
More updates are coming as we report live from the IHI. Doug & Maggie