2014 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award Recipients Announced
Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. – The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum (NQF) have announced the
2014 recipients of the annual John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality
Awards. For 2014, three recipients have been selected in three categories. The
awards will be presented March 23, 2015 at the NQF Annual Conference in
Washington, D.C.
The patient
safety awards program, launched in 2002 by NQF and The Joint
Commission, honors the late John M. Eisenberg, M.D., M.B.A., former
administrator of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Dr.
Eisenberg also was a member of the founding board of directors of NQF. In his
roles both as AHRQ administrator and chair of the federal government’s Quality
Interagency Coordination Task Force, he was a passionate advocate for patient
safety and health care quality, and personally led AHRQ’s grant program to
support patient safety research.
The
three honorees for national, local and individual recognition represent
numerous achievements in the field of patient safety and quality. They are:
Individual Achievement – Mark L.
Graber, M.D., FACP, senior fellow, Health Care Quality and Outcomes Program,
RTI International
Dr.
Graber is recognized as a leader in bringing the role of diagnostic error to
the forefront of the patient safety movement. He convened the Diagnostic
Error in Medicine conference series, formed the nonprofit Society to
Improve Diagnosis in Medicine and in 2014 founded a new
international journal, Diagnosis. He also petitioned the Institute
of Medicine to examine the problem of diagnostic error and its report on the
issue is expected to be released this fall. Dr. Graber’s research studies and
writings on diagnostic error are regarded as the foundation for the growing
interest in improving diagnosis which will require partnerships and
collaboration between providers, health care organizations and patients. He is
the co-creator of Patient Safety Awareness Week, which emphasizes
patient safety through celebrating achievements at the local level and
providing education and awareness.
Innovation
in Patient Safety and Quality at the National Level – American College of Surgeons National
Surgical Quality Improvement Program
The
American College of Surgeons National
Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) is a nationally
validated, risk-adjusted, outcomes-based program designed to measure and
improve the quality of surgical care in participating hospitals. The program
employs prospective, peer-controlled, validated clinical data collection to
quantify 30-day surgical outcomes and allows comparisons of outcomes among all
participating hospitals. NSQIP has been in existence for more than 10 years,
and its data have been used in more than 600 peer-reviewed articles, many of
them highlighting how NSQIP has reduced surgical complications, improved
surgical outcomes, reduced costs and saved lives. The ACS also disseminates a
number of improvement tools, including best practice case studies from NSQIP
hospitals and the ACS NSQIP Risk Calculator.
Innovation
in Patient Safety and Quality at the Local Level – North Shore-LIJ Health System for its
work on reducing sepsis mortality
From
2009 to 2014, North
Shore-LIJ Health System implemented a system-wide initiative to reduce sepsis mortality. The
organization was able to reduce sepsis mortality by 50 percent at 10 acute care
hospitals in its system, including the emergency departments, inpatient and
pediatric settings. To achieve this reduction, the system reduced variation in
practice and implemented evidence-based best practices and protocols.
“On
behalf of The Joint Commission, I extend our sincere gratitude and admiration
to Dr. Graber, to everyone who has been part of the American College of
Surgeons NSQIP program, and to the team at North Shore-LIJ Health System for
their significant contributions to improving patient safety. The collective
impact of their work is remarkable, because their work has likely impacted an
incalculable number of patients by preventing harms across a wide spectrum of
different clinical conditions and circumstances,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D.,
FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president and CEO, The Joint Commission. “The leadership
and dedication they’ve shown to improving patient safety is truly something to
be proud of.”
“The
National Quality Forum applauds each of the 2014 John Eisenberg award winners
for their exemplary efforts to improve the safety, quality and value of the
health care experience for patients across the country,” said Christine K.
Cassel, M.D., president and CEO, National Quality Forum. “The work of Dr.
Graber, the American College of Surgeons and North Shore-LIJ Health System are
an inspiration to the quality field as we work together on our universal goal
of ensuring that all patients receive the high quality, safe care they need and
deserve.”
The
awards will be presented at NQF’s 2015 Annual Conference on March 23-24,
2015, in Washington, D.C. The May 2015 issue of The Joint Commission Journal
on Quality and Patient Safety also will feature the achievements of each of
the award recipients.
For
more information about the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award,
please visit The Joint Commission website.
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About The Joint
Commission
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously
improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders,
by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in
providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint
Commission accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 health care organizations and
programs in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization, The
Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and
accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.
About the National
Quality Forum:
The National Quality Forum leads collaboration across the nation to improve
health and healthcare quality through measurement. Learn more at: www.qualityforum.org.