Patient safety has always been a hot topic in a hospital setting. Hospital-acquired infections affect 1 in 10 patients and kill approximately 100,000 patients per year in the U.S. 1 in 5 Medicare patients are readmitted within 30 days. Hopefully, these statistics will change once Value-Based Purchasing takes effect starting in October 2012. This provision in the new Affordable Care Act will directly affect a hospital’s reimbursement from Medicare. Hospitals will be evaluated based on performance measures including patient satisfaction. All information pertaining to hospital-acquired infections, recommended procedures and outcomes for heart attacks, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical care will be available to the public to aid in selecting a hospital.
As a patient, you will see hospitals starting to ramp up their safety measures so they will receive high ratings in their measured categories and more money from Medicare. You will also begin to see new products on the market available to hospitals as well as patients to improve outcomes, reduce readmissions and increase patient satisfaction.
The Patient Pod™ is a product that just launched this month. As an independent Patient Advocate, I’m a huge proponent for empowering patients and their families to improve their health and safety. The Patient Pod™ was developed by Pat Mastors, a hospital Patient Advocate and former medical reporter. Her passion for patient safety was amplified when her father died of complications from a hospital-acquired infection.
The Patient Pod™ gives patients the ability to have some control over the safety of their medical environment while lying in their hospital bed or sitting in a wheelchair. It keeps a patient’s personal items within reach so falls are not as likely to occur. This also reduces the amount of time the call button is pushed to get assistance in obtaining personal items. Overuse of the call button can result in a delayed response in future situations that do require an immediate response. The Patient Pod™ includes sanitizer products and a TV remote control covering as it reduces the number of people that will touch personal belongings. Since patient items tend to get lost in the hospital, this product minimizes loss of personal items. The Patient Pod™ also personalizes the patient to medical staff by allowing space for family photos and a place to communicate special needs/requests if family is not present at all times.
As I have said before, you may or may not approve of the new Affordable Care Act. However, one cannot dismiss the improved procedures and products that will result from some of the provisions found in this law.
For more information about The Patient Pod™, visit http://www.thepatientpod.com/
For more information about Value-Based Purchasing, visit http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/valuebasedpurchasing04292011b.html