Noteboom The Law Firm

Partnership For Patients Healthcare Model Launches in VA Hospital

The Obama Administration has taken a big step in decreasing the number of medical errors while also making health care more affordable. The Partnership for Patients Initiative seeks to reduce the amount of conditions contracted in hospitals while avoiding patients being readmitted.

The program has received praise from many, and multiple Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers are likely to jump on board. The Rhode Island VA has already signed on.

Simply, the fewer patients being infected while admitted means the fewer patients having to be admitted again in the future. Fewer admissions means less health care having to be administered, which means less unnecessary spending across the entire health care continuum.

In order to achieve this goal, however, the level of health care provided must be improved while the patient is admitted the first time. In order to do this there must be a cooperative effort between hospitals, government officials, patient advocates, and various levels of medical professionals.

If everything goes as planned, infectious conditions contracted in hospitals will be reduced by 40%, which could save up to 60,000 lives by 2013. At the same time, people re-admitted to hospitals should be reduced by 20%. Re-admissions currently cost Medicare beneficiaries more than $26 billion every year.

This is an important program focused on improving health care for patients nationwide. This program will help both veterans and civilians and will likely serve as a model.