AMA Joins Campaign to Reduce System Errors in Hospitals: IHI Campaign Seeks to Save 100,000 Lives by June 2006

The American Medical Association (AMA) announced today that it is partnering with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in a campaign aimed at preventing common in-hospital system errors which can result in unintended deaths.

The "100,000 Lives Campaign", unveiled at the IHI's National Forum in Orlando today, is designed to save 100,000 lives by implementing the following initiatives for in-hospital patient care:

• Deployment of Rapid Response Team - strategies aimed at allowing any staff member, regardless of position, to call upon a specialty team to examine patients at the first sign of decline;
• Assurance of optimal care for patients with acute myocardial infarction - strategies aimed at consistently delivering five specific interventions for patients with this condition: beta-blockers at admission, aspirin at admission, ACE inhibiter, reperfusion, and beta-blockers at discharge;
• Prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia - strategies aimed at consistently delivering five specific interventions: elevation of head of the bed by 30 degrees, peptic ulcer prophylaxis, deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis, lightening sedative use intermittently, and strict hand-washing norms;
• Prevention of surgical site infections - strategies aimed at redesigning current systems to reduce risk factors and optimize evidence-based processes for reducing surgical site infections;
• Prevention of adverse drug events - strategies aimed at preventing (ADEs), including medication reconciliation which requires compiling a list of all medications being taken by a patient; noting discrepancies, and resolving them appropriately.
• Prevention of central line infections - strategies aimed at promoting the use of the "Central Line Bundle" - a set of five interdependent, clinically proven steps to reduce central line infections.

"This campaign brings much needed focus to the patient safety movement," said AMA President John C. Nelson, MD, MPH. "By identifying specific areas along with specific strategies for improvement, the campaign provides physicians and other health care professionals with a meetable challenge."

"The AMA plans to use its full range of resources to educate physicians about the campaign and secure their participation," Dr. Nelson said. "The AMA's position has always been - one preventable error is one error too many. This campaign will allow the AMA to help physicians help their patients while improving health care safety."

The campaign which will run through June, 2006, seeks to enlist 1,500 - 2,000 hospitals. The AMA will focus its efforts on educating individual physicians about the campaign, particularly those who work in hospital settings. Other notable groups participating in the IHI campaign include: The American Nurses Association, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and the Veterans Health Administration.

"Saving lives and helping patients is why most physicians choose to enter medicine in the first place," Dr. Nelson said. "Physicians are on the front lines delivering care and it's important that the AMA and its member physicians support this campaign."