Quality and Patient Safety

Hospitals in New Hampshire work every day to provide safe and better care to the patients they treat, and they’ve made great progress. For most of the last decade, New Hampshire hospitals have ranked #1 in the country for providing the evidence-based processes of care for patients being treated for heart attacks, heart failure, and pneumonia, and those undergoing surgery.  And yet, there is more to be done to ensure that every patient receives the right care every time.

New Hampshire’s hospitals voluntarily monitor and report on many aspects of clinical performance and are proactive in collaborating to identify and share best practices.   Our state is one of the very few in the country where all acute care hospitals collaborate on several quality improvement initiatives, including:

ADVERSE EVENTS
New Hampshire hospitals are working every day to make care as safe and free from harm as it can possibly be. They voluntarily monitor and report on many aspects of clinical performance and are proactive in collaborating to identify and share best practices.  On the rare occasion when a serious, adverse event that could have been prevented occurs, our hospitals believe information about the error should be quickly and openly communicated to patients and their families.  Hospitals will not expect payment or partial payment for care resulting from the preventable error for which they are accountable.

CLINICAL GUIDELINES AND PUBLICATIONS
The Foundation for Healthy Communities has developed guidelines available on its website for: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Guidelines, Advance Care Planning Guide, Depression Guidelines,Low Back Pain Guidelines, N.H. Prescription Assistance Guide, N.H. Prevention Guidelines, Obstetrical Guidelines and Quit Smoking

HIGH FIVE FOR A HEALTHY NH
The “High Five for a Healthy NH” hand hygiene (HH) campaign aims to have 100% compliance as recommended in the CDC Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings in all New Hampshire hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers.  Hand hygiene reduces the chances that patients and staff will acquire a healthcare associated infection while receiving care.  All hospitals in New Hampshire are participating in the High Five for a Healthy NH program. 

NH CRITICAL ACCESS HOSPITALS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT NETWORK
The New Hampshire Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Quality Improvement Network has developed a broad array of resources to help facilities meet federal CAH Conditions of Participation and to share quality improvement resources.

NH ELIMINATE HARM INITIATIVE
The New Hampshire Hospital Association, Foundation for Healthy Communities and hospitals around the state have joined together in an initiative to eliminate harm to patients.  New Hampshire is the first state in the country where the governing boards of all community hospitals have signed a resolution to work collaboratively to deliver safe care to everyone who walks through their hospitals’ doors.

NH HEALTH CARE QUALITY ASSURANCE COMMISSION
The NH Health Care Quality Assurance Commission was established in August 2005 upon the enactment of HB 514. The charge of the Commission is to review and analyze quality of care and patient safety issues in hospitals and freestanding ambulatory surgery centers. The Commission membership includes a representative from each organization.

NH QUALITY CARE
New Hampshire hospitals are committed to providing high quality care to every patient. They regularly measure what they do and use that information to continually improve their care. The nhqualitycare.org website is designed to provide accurate and honest information about how often hospitals provide the recommended care to adults being treated for a heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia. Hospitals also have provided information related to surgical care improvement project for selected surgeries.

This website also displays the results of a standardized survey and data collection methodology for measuring patients' perceptions of hospital care.

ON THE CUSP: STOP BSI IN NH
Nine New Hampshire hospitals have joined a major initiative to eliminate central line blood stream infections (BSI), a major healthcare problem for which a successful improvement model exists.

PATIENT SAFETY CHECKLIST
Every New Hampshire hospital has adopted a safety checklist in all procedure areas where an incision is made or anesthesia is administered. Surgical safety is a major priority for health care safety and quality improvement. The Safety Checklist is designed to improve communication among team members and promote the consistency of care delivered.

WRISTBAND STANDARDIZATION
Color-coded patient wristbands can be an effective way to communicate a wide variety of patient information to medical personnel. But unless the same color designates the same condition to all medical personnel, errors can occur. The Foundation for Healthy Communities continues to promote better patient safety practices.