Quality Awards
Quest for Quality Prize
Abington Memorial Hospital was named the 2003 winner of The American Hospital Association's Quest for Quality Prize, which honors leadership and innovation in patient care quality, safety and commitment. Nearly 5,000 hospitals nationwide were eligible to apply for this award, and AMH won the nation's top prize.
This prestigious award was established by The American Hospital Association to recognize hospitals for their commitment to creating a culture of safety and emphasizing care quality.
Impressing the judges were the hospital's universal computerized physician order entry system which virtually eliminates mistakes when handwriting is misread, and technological advances in cross-checking for drug interactions - two significant investments Abington has made toward patient safety. Less than five percent of hospitals nationwide have universal computerized physician order entry. As part of its safety initiative, the hospital also provides ongoing staff training, a quarterly patient safety newsletter, a patient safety suggestion system, and a round-the-clock reporting hotline.
John M. Eisenberg Award
AMH was awarded the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety Award for system innovation by the National Quality Forum and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in 2003. The hospital earned the award for its work on an outpatient, web-based monitoring program for patients using Coumadin®.
Coumadin is an important drug categorized as an anticoagulant, because it is used to prevent blood clots from forming in the blood. It is commonly prescribed for patients who have had knee or hip replacement surgery. It is also used to reduce the incidence of stroke in patients who have mechanical heart valves or a heart condition called atrial fibrillation, and stroke patients receive it as well.
The downside to Coumadin is that it is a difficult drug to manage with a narrow safety margin. The risk with too much is major bleeding; the problem with too little is failure to protect the patient from blood clots. Anticoagulants are second only to chemotherapy drugs in those having the highest risk of serious treatment-related complications.
Because of the potential patient safety issues surrounding this commonly used drug, the medical, pharmacy, nursing and performance assessment departments at AMH, with support from Physician Network leadership, developed and implemented a web-based program for outpatients that helps primary care physicians keep closer track of patients taking Coumadin, called webINR.
Since the JCAHO announced that Abington Memorial Hospital received the John M. Eisenberg 2003 Patient Safety Award, there has been international interest from healthcare providers wanting to learn more about the virtual anticoagulation clinic and how they can adapt it at their institutions. Partners Health System in Boston has begun using the webINR in its large managed care program.
Cheers Award
AMH received a 2004 Cheers Award for its work on an outpatient, web-based monitoring program for patients using warfarin, commonly known as Coumadin®. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) presented the award during the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) midyear clinical meeting in Orlando.
The Cheers Awards honor individuals, organizations, and companies that have set a superlative standard of excellence for others to follow in the prevention of medication errors and adverse drug events. The award is hosted by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), a nonprofit organization that works closely with healthcare practitioners and institutions, regulatory agencies, consumers, and professional organizations to provide education about medication errors and their prevention.
Innovator Award
AMH was awarded the 2004 Innovator Award for its work on an outpatient, web-based monitoring program for patients using Coumadin®. This news was published in the July 2004 edition of Hospitals and Health Networks magazine, which partnered with IDX Systems Corp. and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives in this joint project.
The Virtual Anticoagulation Clinic or webINR was created to improve and measure patient safety and efficacy of warfarin therapy. The web-based program is designed to track patients' warfarin doses and INR blood test results in physicians' offices, standardize warfarin education for clinicians and educate patients. Implementation of the web-based, computerized record results in significant risk reduction by identifying patients who are tardy in getting their blood work drawn. A web-based resource center is also available for clinicians and patients.
AMH was one of three hospitals chosen nationally out of 46 Innovator Award applications. Hospitals were required to submit descriptions of innovative projects that are then evaluated by an expert panel. The ten-judge panel evaluated the following criteria: universality and achievement of stated business objective; creativity and uniqueness of concept; impact on the organization; scope of solution; stage of implementation; and technical creativity.