VigiLanz Releases New Industry Report Highlighting How the Pandemic is Impacting Hospital Safety

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Mar 23, 2022, 08:46 ET

Two years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, how is the patient, staff, and visitor safety landscape changing, and what might the future bring?

MINNEAPOLIS, March 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- VigiLanz, a clinical surveillance company, today announced the release of its fourth annual Hospital Patient Safety Report.

The Hospital Patient Safety Report, released annually since 2019, serves as a barometer of safety performance within U.S. hospitals and reveals how safety challenges, initiatives, and priorities are evolving. The 2022 report, which also highlights the impact of the pandemic on patient, staff, and visitor safety, is based on an independent survey of 100 hospital and health system leaders conducted in January 2022 by Sage Growth Partners.

Nearly one out of three hospital executives and clinical leaders surveyed reported that their organization is not doing enough to address pandemic-exposed vulnerabilities, and nearly one out of five says pandemic-related challenges such as staff burnout and shortages are putting patients' lives in jeopardy.

"While many hospital executives and clinical leaders see significant safety problems within their organizations, the survey also reveals that most are advancing and prioritizing improvements, with about three-quarters saying the pandemic has made improving patient, staff, and visitor safety a higher priority," said VigiLanz Chairman and CEO David Goldsteen, MD. "We're excited to see the positive impact that this commitment to positive change will have on everyone within healthcare organizations."

Among the report's key findings and insights:

33% of hospital executives and clinical leaders say their organization hasn't done enough to address pandemic-exposed safety problems.
86% say burnout has led to a decline in patient safety, while 21% say it has caused patient deaths.
42% indicate their rate of hospital-acquired infections has increased over the past 12 months.
78% say the pandemic has led to new patient safety improvement initiatives, 77% say it has led to staff safety improvement initiatives, and 72% say it has led to visitor safety improvement initiatives.

"Hospital leaders are facing several safety-related challenges, but the good news is they are embracing new initiatives—and allocating more resources—to meet them," said Dr. Hayley Burgess, Chief Clinical Officer, VigiLanz.

She also noted that 64% of respondents shared that the pandemic has resulted in a higher budget for staff safety improvements, 58% report enhanced budgeting for patient safety improvements, and 49% for visitor safety improvements.

"As hospitals consider various safety improvement initiatives, implementing clinical surveillance technology is a good choice to enhance identification of safety issues which in turn expedites the improvement cycle," said Dr. Burgess.

Overall, the Hospital Safety Report shows that healthcare leaders agree that clinical surveillance technology positively impacts hospital safety, regardless of whether they are currently using the technology.

Among survey respondents who already use the technology, there is widespread agreement about the benefits. These span from an increased ability to identify and manage safety events to identifying infections or outbreaks sooner. In addition, 92% of hospital executives and clinical leaders whose organizations already incorporate technology indicate that it is supporting their hospital's efforts to respond to the pandemic.

"The 2022 Hospital Patient Safety Report provides a unique opportunity for the industry to begin measuring how the pandemic continues to impact national hospital safety trends," said Dan D'Orazio, CEO, Sage Growth Partners. "Staffing shortages, clinical burnout, infection prevention, and pharmacy-related challenges have had an enormous impact on hospital safety, but there is a substantial opportunity to overcome these challenges, and I believe the industry will do so."

For more information and key takeaways on the survey findings, including how the pandemic is impacting and changing how hospitals are approaching safety within key areas such as infection prevention, pharmacy surveillance, and antimicrobial stewardship, please visit https://vigilanzcorp.com/hospital-patient-safety-report-2022/.

About VigiLanz
Founded in 2001, VigiLanz is a privately held, rapidly growing provider of SaaS-based clinical surveillance, safety, quality, and risk solutions. The firm is focused on transforming the delivery of quality care by aggregating disparate EHR transactional workflow and documentation data across health systems to identify real-time clinical issues that avoid or minimize harm, optimize clinical outcomes, and support preventive care. VigiLanz is a clinical partner to a large and growing community of hospital CMOs, CMIOs, CIOs, quality and safety teams, infectious disease and control specialists, pharmacists, and other clinicians dedicated to innovative, real-time inpatient care.

About Sage Growth Partners
Sage Growth Partners accelerates commercial success for healthcare organizations through a singular focus on growth. The company helps its clients thrive amid the complexities of a rapidly changing marketplace with deep domain expertise and an integrated application of research, strategy, and marketing.

For More Information
John Gonda
(616)-309-4888
[email protected]

SOURCE VigiLanz