Hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers in New Hampshire are working harder than ever to increase patient safety and decrease harm. The New Hampshire Health Care Quality Assurance Commission presented its fifth annual report to Governor Lynch and legislative leadership. The report highlights many of the accomplishments of the Commission over the past year to promote quality improvement initiatives, including preventing infections and securing 100% commitment by facilities statewide to use a patient safety checklist.

The New Hampshire Health Care Quality Assurance Commission was established by law in 2005 to enable hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers (ASC) to share important information about medical errors and infections and to promote collaboration on prevention strategies. The membership includes a representative from each of the state’s 26 community hospitals and 17 ASCs.

“We applaud the work of the Commission,” said Steve Ahnen, President of the New Hampshire Hospital Association, “As a group of hospitals and ASCs, the members have proven over the years that they can make a significant impact on the quality of care provided at their institutions by having candid conversations, learning from each other, and working collaboratively to adopt those processes known to make care better and safer for patients.”

New Hampshire is the only state in the country to have every hospital and participating ambulatory surgical center voluntarily adopt a patient safety checklist based on the work of the World Health Organization. It is one of the primary tools used around the globe to ensure safety for patients undergoing procedures.

“Use of a checklist has been proven to reduce the risk of patient harm so we’re committed to ensuring its use throughout the state,” said Ross Ramey, MD, chair of the Commission.”

The hospital Commission members also continued to collect and report measures related to the care a patient receives during surgery. These measures and results, available online at www.NHQualityCare.org, represent the percentage of time hospitals have provided the necessary care proven to reduce the incidence of infection from surgery and decrease the risk of complications.

New Hampshire hospitals perform better than the national average in each of the five measures and continue to improve over time. For instance, 98% of patients in New Hampshire hospitals last year received the necessary antibiotics prior to surgery to help prevent infections. That rate is up from 74% in 2005, the first year of collecting the data. The 2009 national average is 96%.

“Our hospitals make New Hampshire number one in the country for providing the appropriate evidence-based processes of care,” said Dr. Ramey. “These improvements are a perfect example of how the Commission helps hospitals evaluate what they do and use that information to raise the level of health care quality statewide.”

The Commission will begin its sixth year in July 2010, with a focus on providing tools and support for every hospital and ASC to continue improving practices to reduce infections and to fully implement the patient safety checklist in every procedure area. The full 2010 report and reports from previous years are available at www.healthyNH.org. All public documents and educational materials related to the Commission also are online.

Hospitals have been collaborating through the New Hampshire Hospital Association since 1934. The association's mission is to enhance the clinical and economic performance of hospitals, improve public confidence in hospitals, and expand access to coverage and care for all citizens of New Hampshire.