Erlanger Hospital Quality Indicators

Erlanger measures quality against 4 major categories

Why Accreditation Matters

By Jim Brexler
President and CEO
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Erlanger Health System was founded on the pursuit of quality. In the late 1800’s, in order to provide a higher level of care, a hospital was needed in Chattanooga. Concerned citizens made that happen.

This quest for quality has continued through revolutionary technological changes and Erlanger’s growing role as a training ground for physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals. As the list of “firsts” expanded for the hospital – first local cancer center, first area open heart surgery, first area kidney transplant, and more – Erlanger focused on clinical quality, seeking measurable improvement in outcomes for our patients.

Today, the rapid exchange of data means we can constantly monitor our performance against similar institutions. We seek national accreditations, adher to strict guidelines in regard to safety and procedural excellence and listen constantly to our patients through satisfaction surveys. Just as healthcare consumers a century ago demanded a higher level of care, today’s consumers demand accountability in claims of quality. At Erlanger, we are happy to provide details (below) of the most widely used quality indicators. For additional information, call 423-778-7239.

National Quality Improvement Goals
Established by the Joint Commision on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (The Joint Commision) and required for accreditation, these goals recommend specific treatments for the most prevalent conditions faced by hospitals: heart attack (AMI), heart failure (CHF), pneumonia, and surgical infection prevention.
Organizations that adhere to these prescribed guidelines are more likely to improve the patient's health and/or have good outcomes.
The Erlanger Health System is fully acredited by the Joint Commission.

Safe Practices
Erlanger follows safety guidelines established by both the Joint Commission (National Patient Safety Goals) and the National Quality Forum (NQF).
- The National Patient Safety Goals established by The Joint Commission outline practices that work to significantly reduce medical errors, miscommunication among caregivers, and unsafe situations within the hospital. Proof of implementation and adherance is required for accreditation by the Joint Commission.
- NQF edorses 30 safe practices, that, when implemented, reduce the risk of harm in certain processes, systems, or environments of care.

Procedures
In addition to Safe practices, the NQF endorses a specific volume of procedures for a hospital or physician to complete that, evidence has shown, offer the best odds of survival and can reduce a patient’s risk of dying by more than 30%.

Patient Satisfaction
Based on results from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (HCAHPS). The intent of the HCAHPS initiative is to provide a standardized survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring patients' perspectives on hospital care. While many hospitals currently collect information on patients' satisfaction with care, there is no national standard for collecting or publicly reporting this information that would enable valid comparisons to be made across all hospitals. In order to make "apples to apples" comparisons to support consumer choice, it is necessary to introduce a standard measurement approach. HCAHPS can be viewed as a core set of questions that can be combined with a broader, customized set of hospital-specific items. HCAHPS is meant to complement the data hospitals currently collect to support improvements in internal customer services and quality related activities.