Keith Hospital will today launch a new initiative, thanks to the support of Medibank Private, to implement guidelines to improve the continuity of patient medication management - an area that can have devastating consequences if neglected.
Keith Hospital has been awarded $20,000 through the Medibank Safety and Clinical Improvement Incentive Pool, set up to support private hospitals to improve quality and safety.
At a presentation ceremony held at the hospital today, Medibank praised Keith Hospital's commitment to lifting the standards of patient safety and quality and for leading the industry in improving the safety and quality of healthcare for members.
Medibank Private has dedicated more than $900,000 in funding, through the Incentive Pool to hospitals across Australia to improve patient care and clinical outcomes.
Medibank' Private's Hospital Contract Manager, Eric Wirth said, the incentive pool allows us to work with private hospitals, like Keith Hospital, to reduce the risk of adverse events and encourage innovation and best practice in clinical care in Australian private hospitals.
Keith Hospital will use the grant to implement the Australian Pharmaceutical Advisory Council's Guiding principles to achieve continuity in medication management'. The guidelines will be used to benchmark current practices and policies to identify areas of improvement. The Hospital will also undertake staff and patient education to improve knowledge of management practices.
"Medibank Private's grant will enable us to review our processes and provide more education on proper use and administering of medication. In doing so, we aim to avert the potential of harm to patients."
"Medibank has had an overwhelming response from hospitals to take part in the Incentive Pool and we're very pleased that hospitals share our commitment to improving clinical outcomes," Mr Wirth went on to say.
"We want better health outcomes for our members and the incentive pool forces us to do more than just talk about improving quality and safety.
"We are assisting hospitals to be more innovative, to lift the bar on current standards.
"It's simple really - we want the best health outcomes for our members, we asked hospitals how they could do this, they told us and we are helping them make it a reality," he said.
FACTS ABOUT THE MEDIBANK PRIVATE SAFETY AND CLINICAL IMPROVEMENT INCENTIVE POOL:
� Originally $500,000 was made available in 2006, but due to the quality of applications this increased to over $900,000.
� 34 hospitals across Australia were successful in their application
� Total value of approved proposals is $907,488
� Major areas of innovation of applications included:
Falls prevention and management
Improving management of medication
Discharge and re-admission planning
Improving patient communication and education
� A pool of $1 million will be available for distribution in 2007.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Libby Woolnough - Medibank Private
T. (03) 8622 5181 or 0411 659 060
E: libby_Woolnough@medibank.com.au