Campaign Surpasses Goal in Reducing Patient Deaths
A campaign to reduce medical errors and unnecessary deaths in U.S. hospitals has saved an estimated 122,300 lives in the last 18 months, exceeding the campaign’s initial goal of 100,000. “The Campaign to Save 100,000 Lives” was initiated by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in December 2004 to “significantly reduce morbidity and mortality in American health care” by having hospitals pledge to implement six evidence-based, life-saving interventions.
The campaign’s goal of 2,000 participating hospitals was also surpassed when about 3,100 hospitals, representing an estimated 75 percent of the nation’s hospital beds, enrolled in the campaign. Hospitals that participated in the 100,000 Lives Campaign committed to implementing some or all of the following six quality improvement changes:
- Activate a Rapid Response Team at the first sign that a patient’s condition is worsening and may lead to a more serious medical emergency.
- Prevent patients from dying from heart attacks by delivering “evidence-based care” to prevent further heart muscle damage.
- Prevent adverse drug events by implementing medication reconciliation.
- Prevent central line infections by implementing a series of steps, including proper hand washing and antiseptic cleansing of the patient’s skin.
- Prevent surgical patients from developing infections by following a series of steps, including the timely administration of antibiotics.
- Prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia by following four steps, including raising the patient’s head between 30 and 40 degrees.
The campaign was in part a response to a 1999 national report issued by the Institute of Medicine that found an estimated 44,000 to 98,000 patients in U.S. hosptials die each year from medical errors.