Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1462389
18 PATIENT SAFETY & OUTCOMES Quality, patient safety measures: 2018 vs. 2020-21 By Gabrielle Masson A mid the pandemic, officials have struggled to piece together an accurate picture of patient safety and care quality in the U.S., with healthcare systems overwhelmed and data backlogs prevalent. Early metrics tracking healthcare-associated infections and other care complica- tions indicate significant deterioration of multiple patient safety measures, accord- ing to an analysis published Feb. 12 by e New England Journal of Medicine. Below, Becker's has compiled data on quality care measures from both 2018 and 2020-21 to provide further context for healthcare leaders. Data was taken from both CMS' "Timely and Effective Care-National Averages" and "Complications and Deaths-National Averages" reports. Data from 2018 was accessed in February 2020 and represents annual data as of May 2018, the latest available at the time, and representing a time before the emergence of COVID-19. Data from 2020-21 was accessed in January 2022 and was the most re- cent data available at the time of publication. Data from the first and second quarters of 2020 are excluded because of pandemic-related factors. erefore, the more recent data measures were calculated from differing time frames, as noted below. e following represent the average percentage of patients in the U.S. who experi- enced the conditions. Outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack Median time to transfer to another facility for acute coronary intervention 2018: 58 minutes 2020-21: 61 minutes (2020-21 data was collected from July 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.) Flu vaccination Healthcare workers who received flu vaccination 2018: 90 percent 2020-21: 86 percent (2020-21 data was collected from Oct. 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.) Pregnancy and delivery care Mothers whose deliveries were scheduled one to two weeks early when a scheduled delivery was not medically necessary 2018: 2 percent 2020-21: 3 percent (2020-21 data was collected from July 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.) Emergency department care Average time patient spent in the ED before being sent home 2018: 141 minutes 2020-21: 149 minutes (2020-21 data was collected from July 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.) Percentage of patients who le the ED before being seen 2018: 2 percent 2020: 2 percent (2020 data was collected from Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020.) n 10 top patient safety concerns for 2022 By Erica Carbajal S taffing shortages are the top threat to patient safety in 2022, according to a March 14 report on patient safety concerns from ECRI, an organization that conducts independent medical device evaluations. Researchers identified the top threats to patient safety by analyzing a wide range of data, including scientific literature, patient safety events and concerns reported to or investigated by ECRI. Ten top patient safety concerns this year: 1. Staffing shortages 2. COVID-19 effects on healthcare workers' mental health 3. Bias and racism in addressing patient safety 4. Vaccine coverage gaps and errors 5. Cognitive biases and diagnostic error 6. Nonventilator healthcare-associated pneumonia 7. Human factors in operationalizing tele- health 8. International supply chain disruptions 9. Products subject to emergency use authorization 10. Telemetry monitoring The list is typically dominated by clinical issues, with several of the top threats un- derscoring how the pandemic worsened issues already simmering in healthcare. "Shortages in the healthcare workforce and mental health challenges were broad- ly known and well-documented for years," said Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, presi- dent and CEO of ECRI. "Both physicians and nurses were at risk of burnout, emo- tional exhaustion and depression prior to 2022, but the pandemic made both issues significantly worse." The report includes actions organizations can take to prevent adverse events. n