“If you don’t understand how to achieve lower costs, listen to the stories of patients – poor care coordination, ineffective care,” said Dr. Donald Berwick, at a Campaign for Better Care event on Wednesday, August 10, in Cincinnati.

Dr. Berwick, administrator for CMMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), addressing a roundtable of 100 providers and advocates in Cincinnati, said that quality improvement is the route to lower costs. The event was organized by the Campaign for Better Care, which is working to ensure that health care reform improves care for older adults with chronic conditions. UHCAN Ohio is the lead organization for Ohio Campaign for Better Care. Go to our website for more information.

Dr. Berwick stated: the alternative to quality improvement – cutting care for people on Medicare and Medicaid – will lead us in the wrong direction. He also opposes turning Medicare into a voucher program. Instead, he is promoting better care coordination, especially for the 77% of Medicare patients with chronic health conditions. Those with multiple chronic conditions tend to be the heaviest users of health care, with the worst outcomes, and highest costs. If we can improve care for them, we can achieve real savings.

Dr. Berwick’s associate, Dr. Paul McGann, explained HHS’ Partnership for Patients, a new campaign involving federal and state governments, hospitals, physicians, health plans, and consumers to improve patient safety. We waste billions of dollars each year on preventable hospitalizations and re-hospitalizations for preventable conditions. The goals of P4P are to reducing hospital readmissions by 20 percent and hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent by 2013.

The Cincinnati patient safety event will available, by videocast, on the UHCAN Ohio website soon.