The widespread adoption of electronic health records has helped hospitals reduce costs and patient deaths stemming from hospital-acquired conditions, according to a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Health Data Management reports.

Report Details

For the report, AHRQ compared the rates of avoidable hospital-acquired conditions between 2010 and 2014, using a baseline estimate of consequent deaths and health care costs developed when HHS launched the Partnership for Patients in 2011.

The program was created to help reduce a specific set of hospital-acquired conditions.

Report Findings

According to the report, the number of hospital-acquired conditions among patients fell by 2.1 million -- or 17% -- between 2010 and 2014.  

As a result, fewer patients died and health care costs were lowered by almost $20 billion.

AHRQ attributed to decreases to the:

• Implementation and improved use of EHRs; and
• Development of public-private care quality and patient safety initiatives, including those developed by AHRQ.

However, AHRQ said the rate of hospital-acquired conditions "is still too high," noting that nearly 10% of patients hospitalized between 2013 and 2014 experienced one or more of the conditions measured (Slabodkin, Health Data Management, 12/2).