A new study from Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based Adventist Health System has underlined just how much money the system saved by improving patient safety.
AHS researchers examined data from more than 21,000 inpatients across 24 system hospitals from 2009 to 2012. They found patient harm events increased lengths of stay, mortality rates and the probability of readmission, resulting in a negative contribution margin of $669 per patient for temporary harms and a negative contribution margin of $1,112 per patient for severe harms.
AHS reduced severe patient harm event by 67 percent in the course of the three years, lowering the associated costs.
Ultimately, the researchers found AHS saved approximately $108 million in total cost, $48 million in variable cost and $18 million in contribution margin by identifying and reducing patient harm events during the three-year period studied.
According to Terry Shaw, AHS's CFO and COO, the financial benefit is just one more reason to prioritize patient safety efforts.
"Some believe that hospitals have no financial incentive to reduce adverse events, but our most recent study shows there is a financial benefit to improving patient safety," said Mr. Shaw. "It proves that doing what is right is also what is best for business, challenging us as healthcare providers to be both excellent caregivers and good stewards of the resources we have to care for patients."
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