Surprisingly, the data finds that hospitals’ intense focus on preventing the spread of COVID-19 had little impact on the spread of other dangerous pathogens – evidenced by a surge in hospital associated infections (HAIs) during the pandemic. Leapfrog CEO and patient safety advocate, Leah Binder, in a January 2024 call to action to hospitals to make patient safety a top priority, noted that the surge erased a decade of progress in preventing HAIs in some hospitals and likely led to countless deaths. Calling it a bitter irony, Binder says, “Given the high stakes, it is inadequate to protect patients against one danger while neglecting the others. It must never be allowed to happen again.” 

Others seem to agree, including several federal agencies. Dangerous and preventable medical errors continue to occur at surprisingly high rates with harm from unsafe care occurring in all healthcare settings and affecting all patients, according to this September 2023 federal report to the White House from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Medication errors and hospital associated infections remain the most common examples of harm, others include surgical injuries, diagnostic errors and delays, medical device malfunctions, and failure to recognize and respond adequately to physiologic events that can cascade to death. The report underscores that while new patient safety research and innovation holds potential benefit, the focus must be on widespread implementation of current evidence-based solutions that significantly reduce harm. Employers have an opportunity and perhaps, a responsibility to use their purchasing power to pressure health plans and providers to make safer care priority one. 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 heightened employer’s fiduciary accountability to plan enrollees, for selecting and managing effective and efficient plan offerings under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. It also makes clear that this responsibility lays with the employer not a consultant or other third parties. Concern has been growing that employers could face regulatory or legal consequences, if they fail to act in employees’ best interests. A few law firms have been advertising to find enrollees of a handful of named large employer plans, suggesting class action lawsuits may be pending. 

The convergence of efforts seems to be paying off. New data shows hospital-acquired infections are decreasing over pandemic and early post pandemic rates. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has tied Medicare reimbursement to publicly reported safety metrics for many years and has recently increased the ante. In November, it proposed for consideration a list of Structural Patient safety Measure that could transform how hospitals do business, such as requiring hospital boards to commit to patient safety as a “core value” and devote 20% of their agendas to the subject.

Upwards of 250,000 people die every year from preventable errors in hospitals. BHC and employers have an important opportunity to make sure that patient safety is the number one priority at every hospital across the United States. Leapfrog has created easy to navigate web tool that compares over 3,000 U.S. hospitals on several meaningful and reliable measures of patient safety. You can check out your local hospital’s performance here. Better yet, you can make this information available to all your employees and encourage their use. If you would like support in drafting supporting communications materials, reach out to Annie Turner, BHC Director, Member Engagement & Health Solutions at aturner@stlbhc.org. 

Warm regards,

Louise Y. Probst,
BHC Executive Director