Recent Ranking Indicates Atlantic General Hospital Safest in the State
10-03-2012
Atlantic General Hospital was recently ranked forty-sixth out of 46 hospitals
in the state of Maryland on the MHACs scale. This is one time that being
at the bottom is positive and, for patients in Worcester County and the
surrounding area, it’s a very good thing indeed. Just what is an MHAC?
It stands for Maryland Hospital Acquired Conditions and this particular
ranking, announced this month by the Healthcare Service Cost Review Commission
(HSCRC), is given to the hospital in the state with the lowest percentage
of healthcare costs associated with medical conditions that develop after
a patient is admitted for care.
Each hospital in Maryland is assigned an estimated percentage of their
annual revenue that is expected to come from caring for potentially preventable
conditions (PPCs) – urinary tract infections or collapsed lungs,
for instance. This figure is based upon the number of patients a given
hospital sees each year and the complexity of the illnesses and injuries
they treat.
“The MHAC scaling levels the playing field and lets each hospital
know where it stands in the effectiveness of its quality initiatives compared
to others in the state, apples to apples,” said Bob Yocubik, director
of quality at Atlantic General Hospital.
The HSCRC, the state agency that governs the unique rate-setting structure
that all Maryland hospitals follow, began calculating the MHAC scale for
fiscal year 2009. They gave the healthcare organizations a year, and then,
began linking hospital rates in fiscal year 2011 to performance during
the previous fiscal year.
Atlantic General’s operating revenue associated with treating PPCs
was actually 3.87 percent lower than expected by the HSCRC. Being ranked
forty-sixth will result in $438,422 in additional revenue for the hospital
during the following fiscal year.
The 66 hospital acquired conditions tracked range from urinary tract infections
to more serious blood stream infections to falls-related injuries and
decubitis ulcers (bed sores). For a full listing of the PPCs tracked,
visit http://www.hscrc.state.md.us/init_qi_MHAC.cfm.
The reduction in potentially preventable complications shown on paper
may be due, in part, to more accurate medical coding to ensure that conditions
that are present upon patient admission are actually captured, but it
is also because of the intense focus on improving the quality of care
patients receive.
It is estimated that healthcare costs for treatment of hospital associated
infections alone average $33 billion annually in the U.S., according to
the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality. Atlantic General is among
hospitals across the state and nation that are undertaking numerous quality
initiatives to reduce costs and improve the effectiveness and safety of
the care they provide for patients.
But continuous quality improvement efforts aren’t a new focus for
AGH, and they will always remain at the forefront of hospital operations.
Among some of the initiatives they have undertaken:
• December 2004: Atlantic General Hospital joined the national 100,000
Lives Campaign through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to save
lives through the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).
The campaign lasted 18 months, but Atlantic General Hospital has continued
to use the best practices developed through the initiative and has had
zero VAPS since January 2008.
• February 2006, Atlantic General Hospital’s surgical services
department initiated the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) through
a collaborative with the Delmarva Foundation. The department has continued
to drive surgical infection rates below the national average.
• November 2007: Atlantic General Hospital joined the Maryland Patient
Safety Center’s MRSA Prevention Initiative, a five-month program
that helps participating hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and dialysis
centers identify and successfully implement new practices to reduce the
spread of MRSA. Results?
• October 2010: Atlantic General Hospital entered into a two-year
collaborative with the Maryland Patient Safety Center, the Maryland Hospital
Association and the Delmarva Foundation to develop best practices to reduce
central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs) in their ICU.
The ICU has had zero such infections for the last 15 months.
About Atlantic General Hospital
Atlantic General Hospital has been providing quality health care to the
residents of Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset (Md.) and Sussex (Del.) Counties
since May 1993. Built by the commitment and generosity of a dedicated
community, the hospital’s state-of-the-art facility in Berlin, Md.
combines old-fashioned personal attention with the latest in technology
and services. Atlantic General Health System, its network of more than
25 primary care provider and specialist offices, care for residents and
visitors throughout the region. For more information about Atlantic General
Hospital, visit www.atlanticgeneral.org.