Partnership for Patients Meets Goal of Over 2,000 Participating Hospitals

August 5, 2011 -  HHS’ Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on July 8 that nearly 4,500 organizations — including over 2,000 hospitals — have pledged their support for the Partnership for Patients, the new nationwide patient safety initiative.  In less than three months, the Obama Administration has met its goal of having 2,000 hospitals pledge their support.
 
With the collective effort of private and public stakeholders, the Partnership for Patients aims to reduce preventable harm in hospitals by 40 percent in the next three years.  This means a reduction in the number of preventable in-hospital medication errors, central-line associated bloodstream infections, falls and other injuries.  The Partnership also seeks to help patients heal successfully after discharge, targeting unnecessary return visits to reduce 30-day hospital readmissions by 20 percent over the next three years.

HHS states that The Partnership for Patients also has the potential to save up to $35 billion in health care costs, including up to $10 billion for Medicare.  Over the next ten years, the Partnership for Patients could reduce costs to Medicare by about $50 billion and result in billions more in Medicaid savings. 
 
The Partnership for Patients also announced two funding opportunities created by the Affordable Care Act. 

• The Community-Based Care Transitions Program provides up to $500 million in funding for community based organizations in partnership with hospitals to help patients safely transition between settings of care.  Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
• TheCMSInnovation Center has posted a request for bids for state, regional, national, or hospital system organizations to manage improvement projects that affiliated hospitals may join.

For more information on the Partnership for Patients programs, click below. 
 
Partnership for Patients

Tags: Healthcare Reform