The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) 2020 Quality Report underscores the high standard of care of the state’s hospitals even as they prepared for and responded to unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Included in WHA’s Quality Report are aggregate data for Wisconsin hospitals relative to quality programs and measures administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Through its Value-Based Purchasing Program, Hospital-Acquired Conditions Reduction Program and Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, CMS aims to improve the care provided by the nation’s hospitals and link Medicare payments to health care quality in the inpatient setting. In all three programs, Wisconsin hospitals improve year over year and routinely outperform other health care providers.
“This year’s WHA Quality Report demonstrates the long-standing dedication of Wisconsin’s hospitals to high-quality care while also serving as a testament to the resilience of the state’s health care providers, as they kept patient safety top of mind in the face of an extremely challenging and prolonged health care emergency,” said WHA Chief Quality Officer Nadine Allen.
“Wisconsin hospitals and health systems have long been pioneers in quality measurement and reporting,” said WHA President and CEO Eric Borgerding. “We can all take comfort knowing that the hospitals operating in our communities here in Wisconsin are among the nation’s leaders when it comes to quality and patient safety standards.”
In addition to CMS data, WHA’s Quality Report draws upon the association’s own publicly accessible
CheckPoint reporting system, which provides both consumers and health care quality users objective information on measurable safety and quality standards for health care providers in the state. Every Wisconsin hospital voluntarily reports data to CheckPoint, which currently includes more than 50 measures of quality.
The 2020 WHA Quality Report tracks quality improvement collaborations, initiatives and outcomes throughout the state focused on topics ranging from reducing readmissions and falls to preventing health care-associated infections. It also features case studies from Wisconsin hospitals focused on COVID response programs as well as a showcase of successful quality improvement projects.
WHA’s complete 2020 Quality Report is available
here.