Chair Files

Managing and Preventing HACs

"Navigating the rising tide of HACs" is what Baystate Medical Center (BMC) calls this project. A 660-bed teaching hospital in Springfield, Mass., BMC developed a process to manage health care-acquired conditions (HACs) from both a clinical and administrative perspective. Clinically, the medical center educated resident and attending physicians and set up reliable systems of care marked by standardization, mass customization, redundancy and error management, and transparency. Administratively, staff reviewed charts to identify potential HACs, validate coding data and, if necessary, refer charts back for clarification or action plan review. Keys to success were having senior leadership buy-in and support, using rapid cycles of change, adopting and adapting technology, using reliability concepts to hardwire change, communicating and communicating more, and reinforcing the staff's role in preventing patient harm. BMC decreased rates of selected HACs by 25 percent to 65 percent. For more information, contact Jan Fitzgerald, RN, director, quality medical management, at janice.fitzgerald@bhs.org.

  

Additional Resources

Webinars December 13th, 2017

Equity of Care Webinar SeriesPart 2: Aligning Diversity and Inclusion, Community Engagement, Busi......

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Webinars November 20th, 2017

Equity of Care Webinar SeriesPart 1: Aligning Diversity and Inclusion, Community Engagement, Busi......

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Webinars November 17th, 2017

Transportation and the Role of Hospitals This AHA webinar on “Transportation and the Role of Hos......

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