President Barack Obama attributed 50,000 prevented patient deaths to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in his remarks on the fifth anniversary of the law, but where did that number come from?
According to a Washington Post fact checker report, the 50,000 number was derived from a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that examined the impact of the Partnerships for Patient program on healthcare-associated infections between 2010 and 2013. The study used more than 30,000 medical records to look at how many fewer patient-related problems had taken place at hospitals (1.3 million fewer incidents) and determine how many lives might have been saved.
The Washington Post article focused their analysis of the AHRQ report on pressure ulcers and adverse drug events which, together, make up nearly 65 percent of the reduction in estimated deaths. According to the report, inpatient deaths were already on the decline in the years leading up to the implementation of the PPACA, but the $460 million in funding the PPACA Partnerships for Patient program allocated to reducing HAIs sparked cooperation among thousands of hospitals.
The PPACA also created the CMS Innovation Center to test new ideas on how to deliver better care without increasing costs at participating hospitals.
Using results from the two programs, The Washington Post's fact checker concluded it's possible the PPACA did, in fact, prevent 50,000 patient deaths since its passage.
"The results likely reflect work that predated the PPACA but at the same time the PPACA has spurred even greater cooperation among hospitals," wrote the author of the fact checker report. "Since the president is using a figure more than a year old, it is likely understated — unless, of course, the interim number for 2013 turns out to be overstated."
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