OAK BROOK, Ill., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- With as many as 98,000 people per year dying from medical errors and preventable infections, a consortium of the nation's top academic medical centers is embarking on a program to tackle the issue. University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), an alliance of 107 academic medical centers (AMCs) and 234 of their affiliated hospitals, is focusing on reducing hospital-acquired conditions as part of its Imperatives for Quality (IQ) program.

One specific component of hospital-acquired conditions is catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI). There are an estimated 79,500 CRBSIs annually in the U.S., with 90 percent associated with central venous catheters. These infections carry a mortality rate of 35 percent and lead to an average ICU stay of eight days.

"These infections alone can cost the healthcare industry as much as $9 billion a year," said Mark Keroack, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at UHC. "We're moving forward on finding ways for hospitals to prevent these infections, save lives and reduce healthcare costs."

Through UHC IQ, participating hospitals are measured and tracked on several factors, with the goal of improving performance of CRBSIs. UHC also will continue providing specific guidelines for various levels of hospital operations, including executives, services and units.

"At the executive level, it is essential that leaders identify this as an organizational priority," said Irene Thompson, UHC President and Chief Executive Officer. "By mandating compliance with established protocols, hospital leaders can help ensure improvement levels reach desired goals."

UHC IQ self-assessment checklists for executive leaders, as well as service line and unit level staff, provide the specific areas that each should be addressing to ensure progress is achieved and sustained in protecting patients from CRBSI.  For example, at the service level, the checklist includes:

• Develop a system and routinely monitor and analyze CRBSI rates at the service level
• Convene a stakeholder committee to develop evidence-based protocols for central line insertion
• Convene a task force to conduct product evaluations for central line insertion systems that meet requirements for maximum barrier precautions
• Communicate protocol requirements, educate physicians and nurses
• Mandate compliance; empower care providers and hold them accountable

UHC will provide other resources for hospitals, including work plans, data collection and reporting tools. In addition to hospital-acquired conditions, UHC IQ also focuses on:

• Capacity Management: improving emergency department flow, reducing length of stay and readmission rates
• Core Measures: improving performance on all public reported measures
• Mortality: reducing overall risk
• Resource Utilization: optimizing resources for operational efficiency (managing labor, supply costs and drug expenses)

More information about the initiative is available at www.uhc.edu.

About UHC

The University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), formed in 1984, is an alliance of 107 AMCs and 234 of their affiliated hospitals, representing approximately 90% of the nation's nonprofit academic medical centers. UHC offers its members specific programs and services to improve clinical, operational, financial, and patient safety performance.

The mission of UHC is to advance knowledge, foster collaboration, and promote change to help members succeed in their respective markets. Annually, UHC presents its Quality Leadership Award to AMC members that demonstrate excellence in delivering high-quality care, as measured by the UHC Quality & Accountability Study. For more information, visit www.uhc.edu.

SOURCE UHC

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