PDI Releases New Healthcare Reform Champion's Kit

ORANGEBURG, N.Y., June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- PDI, leader in Infection Prevention products and solutions, today released its Healthcare Reform Champions Kit, a digital educational tool designed to demystify key components of the recent Healthcare Reform legislation. The tool kit will assist infection preventionists and other healthcare personnel build the business acumen to work with hospital administration to drive improvements in quality of care, patient safety, satisfaction and system profitability.

Despite slight improvement over the past decade, one in 25 patients still contract a healthcare-associated infection (HAI) during a hospital stay, accounting for more than 200 deaths each day in the United Statesⁱ. HAIs increase length of stay and rate of mortality among patients. Moreover, rates of hospital-acquired conditions are penalized under current legislation as are readmissions, which are subject to an up to a 1% penalty in 2013 and increasing to an up to 3% penalty by 2015ⁱⁱ.

"There is still confusion about the details and implications of healthcare reform legislation on the individual level," said Patrick Treacy, President of PDI Healthcare. "Everyone in the healthcare environment plays a role in improving outcomes and, as a result, improving revenues. We want to arm healthcare professionals with the education and tools they need to demonstrate the positive impact they have on achieving better outcomes, improving patient experience and reducing associated costs."

The PDI Healthcare Reform Champions Kit offers the following resources:

• An easy to digest overview of healthcare reform including the goals of The Triple Aim, set forth by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and explanations of Value-Based Purchasing, Quality Indicators and reporting and reimbursement changes, among others.  
• A how-to guide for effectively delivering the business case for infection prevention programs to C-Suite coupled with a business presentation template to help get users started. (coming soon)
• A glossary of key terminology and additional quick references and tips. (coming soon)
• A guide for promoting hospital successes through internal and external communications. (coming soon)

To learn more about healthcare reform and the PDI Healthcare Reform Champion's Kit, visit www.PDIHC.com/HCReformKit.

About PDI
PDI helps reduce preventable infections, control healthcare costs, and ultimately help save lives by delivering a broad range of evidence-based, market leading environmental hygiene and patient care solutions.  PDI's expertise in making a difference in the community and healthcare environments extends throughout the United States and worldwide. www.pdihc.com  

ⁱ Despite Progress, Ongoing Efforts Needed to Combat Infections Impacting Hospital Patients. (2014, March 26). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved April 22, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0326-hospital-patients.html
ⁱⁱ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Readmissions Reduction Program. http://www.cms.gov/medicare/medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/AcuteinpatientPPS/Readmissions-Reduction-Program.html. 2013

SOURCE PDI