How is the DFWHC Foundation Utilizing Present on Admission? (Part 3 of 3)

The Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation’s focus for collecting Present-on-Admission (POA) data is not only for hospital comparisons (though valuable in identifying best practices), but also on how we can use the knowledge of that existing condition to potentially identify preventable complications.

Our goal is to assist hospital partners in delivering quality patient care and improving patient safety. By removing pre-existing comorbids and complications, it will improve the overall performance score of a hospital. Having this indicator available in our regional warehouse enhances the accuracy of our research by adding precision to our studies.

As a CMS Hospital Engagement Network (HEN), the POA flag we receive with patient diagnosis codes helps us focus on where we can improve patient safety and lower hospital-acquired conditions or infections. We are confident the collection of this element will increase the value of the data anlysis done using our BI Tools for the regional warehouse.

If you would like further information, please contact me via email at tmendoza@dfwhcfoundation.org.