Hospital-acquired conditions drop 17%

Hospitals are making “substantial progress in improving safety,” according to an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality report that found a 17 percent decline in hospital-acquired conditions from 2010 to 2014. That saved 87,000 lives and nearly $20 billion in health costs. HACs include adverse drug events, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections and pressure ulcers, among others. The Department of Health & Human Services cited “concerted attention by hospitals throughout the country to reduce adverse events.”