Transparency Saves Lives. Here's Proof.

A recent article published on USA Today's website interviewed the CEO of Leapfrog Group, which assigns grades to hospitals based on "medical errors, infections and injuries, patient responses to surveys, [and] data provided to CMS, the American Hospital Association, and voluntarily to Leapfrog." 

Perhaps the most striking point the article made was one that we've been trying to bring to light since Pulsara was founded. In fact, it's the reason WHY Pulsara was founded: "[These] problems are 'all too common,' with more than 500 people a day dying from preventable errors in hospitals."

The transparency Leapfrog has tried to bring to the public about hospitals' processes and areas of weakness has effected change and potentially helped patients avoid serious medical complications or death. The company has noted that as soon as their grades are made public, most hospitals dramatically improve their processes, boosting their grades the following year. 

Patient safety and medical errors are complex issues, BUT communication is key. Transparency is key. 

Healthcare requires a TEAM. Providers focusing only on the patient and only WHEN we are touching them is a failed model.

We must focus on the patient AND the team that will be providing the care for the entire patient journey. Can you unite a team with radios, fax, email, pagers, answering services, and 1:1 phone calls?  

These archaic technologies actually encourage providers to only focus on the care they provide and a single handoff instead of a team approach. We need a central, real time, team communication platform that crosses healthcare entities and allows the patient's team to truly communicate with each other.  It's about people.