Joint Commission: Evidence-based care reaps positive results

Evidence-based care is taking hold at more and more hospitals, according to the Joint Commission's 2014 annual report, "America's Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety."

The adoption of evidence-based care processes has improved care overall for common conditions such as pneumonia, asthma in children, heart failure and surgery, according to a Joint Commission announcement describing the report findings.

The report analyzes data from more than 3,300 Joint Commission-accredited hospitals around the country, including 1,224 recognized as "top performers" in key quality measures based on how well they meet accountability measures for treating several common conditions. That's an 11 percent increase from last year, according to the accrediting agency, and represents 37 percent of all accredited hospitals that reported accountability measure performance data for 2013.

This year the Joint Commission also increased its core measurement set requirements from four to six.

Mark Chassin, M.D., president and CEO of the Joint Commission, highlighted areas for improvement during a press conference to announce the findings. These included better consistency in quality and safety performance across the board, according to H&HN Daily. He also said that care and discharge plans for patients with conditions, such as childhood asthma and psychiatric disorders, also need improvement.

Last month the Joint Commission released new guidance on fostering an organizational safety culture, and took the unprecedented step of making the chapter available online not just to hospitals, but to the public.

Another Joint Commission effort significantly reduced both the number of patients injured in falls and the number of patients falling in a pilot project at seven hospitals nationwide.

For more information:
- here's the report (.pdf)
- check out the announcement
- read the H&HN Daily article