jump to navigation

Moving the Big Dot – Mortality Trends at LPCH
June 13, 2010

Posted by chcablogadmin in : Industry Trends, Innovation
We are excited that new evidence provided by Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford suggests that CPOE does, in fact, lead to lower mortality rates!  As each of you take the necessary steps to “move the big dot”  we encourage you to also assess the impact of your health information technology investments.  Many thanks to Chris and the quality team and physicians for publishing this important piece of evidence. — Don
 
by Chris Dawes,
CEO, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford

Chris Dawes

In 2003, a white paper from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement identified remarkable variability in standardized mortality rates across US hospitals. A recent study confirmed the same phenomenon exists within CHCA hospitals. At Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, we track mortality rates as a Board of Directors Quality Indicator and have seen consistent annual decline despite an increasing severity of illness. Researchers from our hospital (led by our Chief Patient Safety Officer) previously demonstrated that implementation of rapid response teams was significantly correlated with mortality rate improvements (Sharek et al., JAMA, 2007), and another group (led by our Chief Medical Information Officer) has now found that our computerized physician order entry (CPOE) rollout was also significantly associated with decreased mortality rates (Longhurst et al., Pediatrics, 2010). Health information technology has been widely touted as a tool to help improve quality and patient safety, and while a retrospective correlation does not prove causation, this is one more piece of evidence suggesting that CPOE is the best way to provide high-quality care for our pediatric patients.

Comments»

no comments yet - be the first?