Three large hospital systems -- Adventist Health System, Wellmont Health System and Novant Health -- have partnered to form the "Safest Hospital Alliance," which seeks to reduce the number of medical errors at hospitals by 30% over the next two years, CQ HealthBeat reports. According to the alliance -- whose members operate more than 50 hospitals nationwide and have combined annual revenue of more than $10 billion -- a reduction in medical errors at hospitals would save the health care system billions of dollars annually.

The alliance seeks to develop a template for the "safest hospital," identify important care processes and diagnoses and define ideal patient outcomes. In addition, the alliance cited the need to adopt the best practices of other industries, develop coordination on patient safety among physicians and clinical staff and establish an environment in which hospital employees are not punished when they report medical errors.

Richard Salluzzo, president and CEO of Wellmont and founder of the alliance, said, "The health care system themselves have to fix health care. We know it best." Dennis O'Leary -- president of the Joint Commission, formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations -- in a statement said that the alliance "reflects the type of leadership commitment and collaboration that are needed to advance patient safety" (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 5/17).

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