Piedmont Augusta Hospital

Hospitals should provide patients with complete billing information and access to a representative that can quickly resolve billing issues. In addition, hospitals should not sue patients over late or unpaid bills.

Hospitals should ensure that all patients are fully aware of risks and alternatives prior to procedures.

Hospitals should have nurse staffing plans in place that ensure there are enough nurses of all types (i.e., registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, or unlicensed assistive personnel) to provide direct care to patients in medical, surgical, or med-surg units each day.

Hospitals should have nurse staffing plans in place that ensure there are enough registered nurses (RNs) to provide direct care to patients in medical, surgical, or med-surg units each day.

Hospitals should have nurse staffing plans in place that ensure the proportion of nursing hours performed by registered nurses (RNs) is adequate.

Hospitals should take meaningful steps to raise awareness about patient safety, hold leadership accountable for reducing unsafe practices, provide resources to implement a patient safety program, and develop systems and structures to support action to improve patient safety.

Hospitals should assess their culture of safety and hold leadership accountable for implementing policies, procedures, and staff education to improve the culture of safety.

Hospitals should regularly monitor hand hygiene practices for everyone interacting with patients, and give feedback to ensure compliance. Hospitals should foster a culture of good hand hygiene, offer training and education, and provide equipment, such as paper towels, soap dispensers, and hand sanitizer.

Hospitals should enter at least 85% of inpatient medication orders through the CPOE system, and should fully demonstrate their CPOE system meets the national safety standard for decision support.

Hospitals should have a rate of unintentional medication discrepancies per medication that is lower than or equal to the 50th percentile (where lower performance is better) nationally.

Hospitals should have nurses and other clinicians use BCMA in all medical/surgical units, intensive care units, labor and delivery units, pre-operative and post-anesthesia care units to scan the patient and medication prior to administration at least 95% of the time. The BCMA system includes decision support to prevent errors and the hospital has processes to prevent workarounds.

Hospitals should have fewer than expected colon infections from C. diff bacteria.

Leapfrog uses a standardized infection ratio (SIR) calculated by the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) to compare the number of infections that actually happened at this hospital to the number of infections expected for this hospital, given various factors. A number lower than one means fewer infections than expected; a number more than one means more infections than expected.

Hospitals should have fewer than expected central-line associated blood stream infections.

Leapfrog uses a standardized infection ratio (SIR) calculated by the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) to compare the number of infections that actually happened at this hospital to the number of infections expected for this hospital, given various factors. A number lower than one means fewer infections than expected; a number more than one means more infections than expected.

Hospitals should have fewer than expected catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

Leapfrog uses a standardized infection ratio (SIR) calculated by the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) to compare the number of infections that actually happened at this hospital to the number of infections expected for this hospital, given various factors. A number lower than one means fewer infections than expected; a number more than one means more infections than expected.

Hospitals should have fewer than expected antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.

Leapfrog uses a standardized infection ratio (SIR) calculated by the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) to compare the number of infections that actually happened at this hospital to the number of infections expected for this hospital, given various factors. A number lower than one means fewer infections than expected; a number more than one means more infections than expected.

Hospitals should have fewer than expected surgical site infections after major colon surgery.

Leapfrog uses a standardized infection ratio (SIR) calculated by the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) to compare the number of infections that actually happened at this hospital to the number of infections expected for this hospital, given various factors. A number lower than one means fewer infections than expected; a number more than one means more infections than expected.

Hospitals should have intensivists present on-site at least eight hours a day, seven days per week or have intensivists present via 24/7 telemedicine with some on-site intensivist presence. When not in the ICU, the intensivist immediately responds to calls and has another physician or trained clinician who can immediately reach the patient.

Hospitals should deliver at least 50 very-low birth weight babies per year OR the hospital must maintain a lower-than-average morbidity/mortality rate for very-low birth weight babies.

This is defined as first-time mothers giving birth to a single baby, at full-term, in the head-down position who deliver their babies through a C-section. Hospitals should have a rate of C-sections of 23.6% or less.

This is defined as mothers having an incision made in the perineum (the birth canal) during childbirth. Hospitals should have a rate of episiotomies of 5% or less.

Hospitals should screen at least 90% of babies for jaundice.

At least 90% of women undergoing a cesarean section receive treatment to prevent blood clots.