Aetna Incorporates Patient Safety Language into Hospital Contracts.- Policy aims to focus attention on preventing medical errors and encourage change through shared information - HARTFORD, Conn. -- As part of its commitment to improving patient safety, Aetna (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :AET AET Aetna, Inc. AET After Extra Time AET Actual Evapotranspiration AET Alliance for Environmental Technology AET Alpha-Ethyltryptamine AET Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc. ) has incorporated language from the Leapfrog Group's Never Events policy in its hospital contract templates for negotiations or renegotiations that use a new contract. 'Never events' are a list of occurrences compiled by the National Quality Forum that so threaten patient safety that they should never happen. These include surgery performed on the wrong body part or on the wrong patient, leaving a foreign object inside a patient after surgery, or discharging an infant to the wrong person. "Fortunately, these events are quite rare. However, it is important to take steps to take action; to move in a matter. See also: Step that will increase hospitals' focus on why 'never events' happen, promote shared information and facilitate improved processes that will prevent future events," said Troyen Brennan, M.D., Aetna's chief medical officer. "More than 600 hospitals across the country already have agreed to report these events voluntarily. We want to support their leadership and safer health care for all patients." The language included in Aetna's template for hospital contracts calls for hospitals to report the medical error to at least one of the following agencies within 10 days of becoming aware it has occurred: the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO JCAHO Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, see there ), state reporting programs for medical errors, or patient safety organizations A patient safety organization is a group, institution or association that improves medical care by reducing medical errors. In the 1990s, reports in several countries revealed a staggering number of patient injuries and deaths each year due to avoidable adverse health care events. . Hospitals also are asked to take action to prevent future events, waive To intentionally or voluntarily relinquish a known right or engage in conduct warranting an inference that a right has been surrendered. For example, an individual is said to waive the right to bring a tort action when he or she renounces the remedy provided by law for such all costs related to a serious reportable event serious reportable event Patient care A health care event resulting in death, serious injury or other significant harm Types Surgical; product/ device-related; Pt protection; Pt care; environmental; criminal Examples Surgery on wrong body part, on wrong Pt, ("never event"), and apologize to the patient and/or family affected by the never event. "Shared knowledge has the power to improve care. Only by identifying patterns of patient safety risks and understanding their causes can we ultimately implement change. We hope this strategy will lead to broader adoption of quality measures and reporting, and we encourage others in health care to support this effort," said Dr. Brennan. Aetna was the first health plan to endorse the Leapfrog Group's approach to 'never events,' including public recognition of hospitals that voluntarily develop procedures around reporting these events. Patient safety is one of the nation's most pressing health challenges. Since the publication of the Institute of Medicine's 1999 report on medical errors, To Err Is Human "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System" is a groundbreaking report issued in 2000 by the U.S. Institute of Medicine which resulted in an increased awareness of U.S. medical errors. The push for patient safety that followed its release currently continues. , public attention has focused on patient safety and the prevention of medical errors. Aetna has a history of activities aimed at increasing patient safety that include e-prescribing pilots and covering online communications between doctors and patients. The company's MedQuery program uses Aetna's vast stores of member health data to identify opportunities to improve the safety and quality of the care Aetna members receive. The company also has built patient safety warnings into its personal health record, and makes patient safety information and tools available to members on its website including comparative ratings of hospitals based on guidelines approved by the Consumer Purchaser Disclosure Project (CPDP CPDP Computer Program Development Plan ) and Leapfrog. About Aetna Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.4 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health Behavioral health was first used in the 1980's to name the combination of the fields mental health and substance abuse. As an example, an organization serving both mental health and substance abuse clients might refer to its practice as behavioral health or , group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups employer group Association of employers Managed care An entity with a current group benefits agreement in effect with a health plan to provide covered health care services to its employee-subscribers and eligible dependents. , individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, government-sponsored plans and expatriates. www.aetna.com |
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