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Health care quality
Our vision at Aurora involves finding better ways to provide health care. We
want to give people better access, better service, and better results than they
can get anywhere else. Through our care management philosophy, we are able to do
just that. It may involve new treatment guidelines that return patients to
health faster or finding ways to help people better manage their health and
improve their quality of life. Our goal is to provide services that are:
- Coordinated across all care settings
- Accessible and understandable to everyone we serve
- Designed to meet the needs of individuals and communities
- Meeting or exceeding best practices in the health care field
- Measurable against defined standards
Our care management philosophy is at the heart of everything we do and is
measured through more than 25 initiatives, including cholesterol, congestive
heart failure, pneumonia, stroke, heart attack, breast and cervical cancer,
colorectal cancer and influenza. Care management generates these kinds of
results:
- Fewer days in intensive care for patients after heart attack
- A more timely and effective treatment plan for patients with pneumonia
- Fewer visits to the ER for people with asthma
- Fewer hospital visits for patients with congestive heart failure
- Improved cholesterol levels in people with coronary artery disease
- Improved blood sugar control in people with diabetes
Involvement in national quality initiative
CMS Demonstration - One of two state providers selected for Medicare
pilot project promoting hospital quality improvement efforts. The Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services will identify top-performing hospitals based on the
quality of care for five clinical conditions: heart attack, heart failure, hip
and knee replacement, pneumonia, and coronary artery bypass surgery. For more
information or results,
click here.
National recognition for quality and patient safety
Cholesterol Management - Aurora Medical Group was an honoree for the
American Medical Association's Acclaim Award for our care management initiative
focused on cholesterol management in coronary artery disease (CAD). The Acclaim
Award rewards quality improvement efforts that measurably improve health
outcomes and quality of life for patients.
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices recognized Aurora for
accomplishments in patient safety. The Institute commended Aurora for
incorporating patient safety into its strategic focus and recognized our
development of a computerized patient record system throughout the organization.
One component of the system is an electronic prescription program. All Aurora
physicians use either this desktop prescription program or handheld computers
when they write prescriptions. Last year, our physicians wrote 1.4 million
computerized prescriptions, which the literature suggests prevented nearly
58,000 medication errors.
Premier Award - Aurora received the Premier Quality Performance award
for clinical outcome excellence in patient safety. The award measured the
improvement of clinical outcomes and the impact on the patient population, along
with a number of other factors. Three areas of focus recognized by judges
included the establishment of a Medication Error Reduction Team, enhancements to
Aurora's safety culture, and the use of technology to reduce medication errors.
Magnet Award - Aurora Health Care nurses were the first in Wisconsin
to earn the coveted Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Association. This
national designation is the highest level of recognition for nursing services.
We are the first health care system in the country to achieve Magnet status for
multiple hospitals.
Additional patient safety initiatives
- Charter membership in the national Patient Safety Foundation's Stand Up
for Patient Safety Campaign.
- Founding membership in the Wisconsin Patient Safety Institute.
Computerized Patient Records enhancing patient care
Our work in care management is enhanced through the use of a comprehensive
Computerized Patient Record (CPR) that is setting the stage for better outcomes,
better service and the delivery of more efficient, cost-effective care. The
computerized patient record brings together all of the information caregivers
need to make the best decisions -clinic visits, emergency room visits, hospital
stays, lab results, prescriptions and more. The CPR system is in place at all 14
of our hospitals and by the end of the year will be in place at all Aurora
clinics (over 100) throughout eastern Wisconsin.
Local hospital initiatives
Patient safety: Unsafe abbreviation list was distributed to all Aurora
BayCare employees for their reference. Patient Safety Week will enable staff to
learn more about our culture of safety. A Patient Safety Fair will focus on the
2004 Patient Safety Goals.
Care Management: In the past year, 97% of our Congestive Heart Failure
patients were discharged home on an ACE inhibitor and 94% of our pneumonia
patients received their antibiotic within 3 hours of presentation to our
facility. Physicians will utilize pocket reference cards for quick access to the
clinical indicators that are being monitored.
Quality Council: Hospital wide ORYX data and Dashboard Clinical
Indicators are reviewed monthly.
Surgical site infection rates: Established an Antibiotic PI team to
work with the MetaStar Collaborative to ensure that our patients are receiving
their pre-op antibiotics within 1 hour of their surgical incision and their
antibiotics are being discontinued 24 hours post-operatively unless otherwise
indicated.
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