From 2010 through 2015, national efforts to reduce hospital-acquired conditions saved the lives of approximately 125,000 patients and reduced overall healthcare costs by $28 billion, according to a new report released by HHS on Monday.
Researchers at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality compiled and analyzed the data for the study. In total, they found hospital patients experienced more than 3 million fewer hospital-acquired conditions from 2010 through 2015. The new data builds on previously achieved improvements. From 2010 through 2014, 87,000 fewer patients died from a hospital-acquired condition and $20 billion in healthcare costs were saved.
"The Affordable Care Act gave us tools to build a better healthcare system that protects patients, improves quality and makes the most of our healthcare dollars, and those tools are generating results," said HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell.
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