What is an adverse event?

In healthcare, an adverse event is defined as unintentional patient injury or harm resulting from a medical intervention rather than from the patient’s underlying medical condition.

What is a preventable adverse event?

A preventable adverse event is an adverse event that could have been avoided. For example, adverse events can be avoided by ensuring that all healthcare providers follow evidence-based best practices or clinical guidelines. Physicians and healthcare system leaders are responsible for continuously monitoring and enforcing the implementation and upgrading of applicable standards of care.

Why is preventing adverse events important to my organization?

Adverse events are an unfortunate fact of life in any health care organization. Despite the best intentions of clinicians and health care leaders, adverse events happen. The costs of adverse events can be staggering, resulting in extended hospital stays, additional procedures, unnecessary patient readmissions, and more. Therefore, every organization should strive to predict, reduce, and prevent adverse events through the use of clinical triggers.

Can you help me if my hospital doesn't have an electronic health record?

Yes. Pascal Metrics can cost-effectively support clients who use paper records as well as clients who have a fully-integrated electronic health record.

Why do I need Pascal Metrics if I have already automated my triggers?

Automating triggers is only the first step in real-time clinical improvement efforts.

What is the business case?

There are different business cases for our Risk Trigger subscription. Consider the following to help you decide which is right for you:

• You may select a trigger tool approach that is not fully automated but that goes well beyond the traditional use of the IHI Global Trigger Tool.* Assuming a 15% decrease in serious adverse events, a healthcare system can project an improvement margin of $2.1M, with a full cost recovery within 6 months, when choosing this option.
• The traditional IHI Global Trigger approach with limited data automation can help healthcare systems achieve an overall efficiency savings of $400,000 annually.
• The fully automated Risk Trigger approach can help healthcare systems achieve cost savings of approximately 20% of their net income, or $600 per admission.

How can I calculate the rate of adverse events in my hospital?

You can calculate the rate of adverse events in your hospital by using HealthBench™, the Pascal Metrics software platform that allows hospitals and health systems to capture adverse event data electronically. Clinical reviewers enter additional data about each adverse event, and our software provides analytics and tracks trends online.

What can I do when I know what my adverse event rate is?

Act. Pascal Metrics provides an adverse event management program supported by the software platform, HealthBench.™ HealthBench™ identifies the top categories of adverse events broadly—that is, across an entire health system--or narrowly, within a single hospital unit. HealthBench™ enables healthcare providers to understand where, how, and why adverse events reach the patients, and to act on these data with appropriate clinical interventions.

What is the difference between the IHI Global Trigger Tool* and the Pascal Metrics offering?

The IHI Global Trigger Tools is a manual, paper-based methodology that allows a hospital to calculate its adverse event rate. Our comprehensive program supports and is compatible with the current IHI Global Trigger Tool methodology, integrating senior clinical expertise with a software system and tools essential for cost-effective implementation. Our implementation methodology includes guidance and support for assessment, development, and deployment. Our Web-based software platform, HealthBench™, integrates with a healthcare organization’s electronic health record system to support adverse event management and help drive clinical improvement initiatives organization-wide.

* Global Trigger Tool and IHI Global Trigger Tool are trademarks of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA (www.ihi.org).