AHRQ: HACs down 21% since 2010

Editor's Note

Hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) fell 21% (3.1 million) between 2010 and 2015, saving nearly 125,000 lives and $28 billion in health care costs, according to a December 12 report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Among the findings:

• Adverse drug events were down 42.3%.
• Pressure ulcers were down 23%.
• Catheter-associated urinary tract infections were down 15.2%.
• Surgical site infections were down 2.4%.
• Postoperative venous thromboembolisms were down 1.3%.

The data indicate that it is possible to make substantial progress in reducing all types of HACs simultaneously, the authors say.

AHRQ's patient safety programs continue to enable and guide improvements in health care delivery. In addition to sustaining further improvements in the safety of hospital care, the Agency has substantially expanded its efforts in order to extend the success that hospitals have achieved to all health care settings.