By Kester Freeman
Retired CEO, Palmetto Health
While healthcare reform efforts are on the slow track in Congress, some hospitals are working to save money and improve the quality of their care through their own efforts.
A recent article in HealthLeaders Media details a unique initiative called QUEST. QUEST stands for quality, efficiency, safety and transparency. The program is a joint project with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Premier healthcare alliance. The program is helping save hospitals millions of dollars and is also credited with care improvements that are saving lives.
The article explains that:
QUEST helps hospitals to do what they have trouble doing alone by establishing a framework and data center that allows hospitals to compare themselves against each other, and a way to collect data and pool knowledge in such a way that sustainable cost and quality improvements can be made more quickly than if they were attempted by a bunch of hospitals operating individually.
Arlington-based Texas Health Resources has 12 hospitals participating in QUEST. The CEO of the healthcare system says the program has helped them save millions of dollars.
It's all about trying to discover the best evidence-based protocol you can find. By reducing variation from one doctor to another and one patient to another you improve quality. For the vast majority of patients, this is the best way to improve care.
Most doctors, after seeing the evidence and improved outcomes, will rapidly come on board and embrace standardized care. Every hospital in this country should be considering programs like QUEST.
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