(May 5, 2023) – Last week, the American Hospital Association had its Allied Associations Quality annual spring meeting. More than 30 state hospital association quality leaders, including Kansas Hospital Association staff, gathered to share priorities and information on quality, safety and equity, as well as to hear updates from federal agencies on focus areas related to these issues. The meeting was kicked off by the new AHA Chief Physician Officer Dr., Chris DeRienzo, who discussed AHA's strategic priorities for patient safety and quality, including leadership, workforce and the use of technology to improve patient safety. The KHA Board of Directors also has identified patient safety and quality as one of our top strategic issues. KHA looks forward to working with Dr. DeRienzo as he settles into his new role with AHA.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shared its quality measurement strategy, emphasizing the need to continue to improve maternal mortality, patient and family engagement efforts, as well as a continuing focus on health equity, infection prevention and sepsis. CMS noted the President's Council on Safety and Technology is focusing on patient safety. Likewise, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized infection prevention and sepsis, and included a focus on antimicrobial stewardship.
Dr. Jonathan Perlin, president and CEO of The Joint Commission, shared updates TJC's HELP agenda, which represents health equity and the learning process. Preventing medication errors was the focus of the speaker from the ECRI Institute, which works closely with the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Other agencies presenting and topics discussed included the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which highlighted the agency's focus on patient safety through the creation of the National Action Alliance. The Food and Drug Administration shared the ongoing efforts of the Resilient Supply Chain Program to put in place mitigation strategies to address supply shortages.
The AHA Center for Health Innovation shared updates regarding funded partnerships with the CDC and other federal agencies to provide resources to hospitals around infection prevention and preparedness. AHA staff also provided recent regulatory updates focusing on quality, safety and health equity measures. The KHA team will continue to work to address member priority quality and safety issues and deploy strategies learned from the annual AHA allied meeting.
Please let the KHA team be one of the first to wish you and your staff a Happy Hospital Week, May 7-13. We look forward to celebrating and recognizing the dedicated hospital staff that serve Kansans, 24/7/365. Thank you for all that you do!
--Chad Austin