Patient Safety and Your FEHB Plan Health plans can also influence the quality of medical care you receive. They do this through contracting arrangements, monitoring and reporting on physician and hospital practices, and promoting treatment plans that are known to improve outcomes. Here are examples of activities that hospitals, doctors, and pharmacy programs use to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors. There is not one standard for choosing a hospital or surgeon. We offer the following for you to consider in your decision making.
Some hospitals perform a lot of a specific type of procedure.
Studies show that hospitals that perform specialty procedures more frequently have lower rates of infection, lower mortality rates, and higher patient satisfaction. Referrals to specific institutions, sometimes called Centers of Excellence, offer the best survival odds based on their volume of experience in treating a given condition. Referrals to a Center of Excellence could prevent over 7,000 American deaths annually. Research further indicates that such referrals could reduce your risk of dying by more than 30 percent for some treatments. Ask your health plan, your surgeon, and the hospital where an operation will be done for volume information and results.