Medibank private and st john of god hospital bunbury lead the way in delivering safer health outcomes

Local hospital, St John of God Hospital Bunbury has been applauded today for its developments in improving quality, safety and clinical outcomes for patients.

The hospital has received a grant of more than $15,000 from the Medibank Private Safety and Clinical Improvement Incentive Pool (MPSCIIP). The grant was officially received at an event held this morning at the hospital.

The incentive pool - totalling more than $900,000 distributed across Australia - was established by Medibank Private to support initiatives aimed at improving quality and safety in private hospitals. It allows the health fund to work with private hospitals, like St John of God Hospital Bunbury, to reduce the risk of adverse events and encourage innovation and best practice in clinical care in Australian private hospitals.

St John of God Hospital Bunbury was awarded the grant for their work to promote and improve uptake of Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis in the hospital. Venous Thromboembolisms (VTE) (clots) are major, potentially fatal, complications that can occur in hospital admissions. Use of medication and medical aids to prevent thrombosis has demonstrated well over a 50% reduction in the incidence of such complications. St John of God Hospital Bunbury's program will identify the incidence of patients who have experienced a thrombosis, or are potentially at risk and work to improve clinician compliance with the assistance of preventative guidelines.

"This program is an excellent clinical improvement initiative that started from recommendations involving General Specialist Medical Practitioners, Theatre and Ward Nurses. We are delighted Medibank Private made available funds to promote and improve the use of various Thromboembolism Prophylaxis within St John of God Hospital Bunbury." Chief Executive Officer / Director of Nursing, Mark Grime.

"Medibank's incentive pool allows us to work with hospitals to improve clinical outcomes. We want better health outcomes for our members and the MPSCIIP forces us to do more than just talk about improving quality and safety," said Medibank Private's Hospital Contract Manager, Slade Logan.

"We are assisting hospitals to be more innovative, to lift the bar on current standards.

"It's simple really - we want the best health outcomes for our members, we asked hospitals how they could do this, they told us and we are helping them make it a reality," he said.

FACTS ABOUT THE MEDIBANK PRIVATE SAFETY AND CLINICAL IMPROVEMENT INCENTIVE POOL:

� Originally $500,000 was made available in 2006, but due to the quality of applications this increased to over $900,000.
� 34 hospitals across Australia were successful in their application
� Total value of approved proposals is $907,488
� Major areas of innovation of applications included:
 Falls prevention and management
 Improving management of medication
 Discharge and re-admission planning
 Improving patient communication and education
� A pool of $1 million will be available for distribution in 2007.

ENDS

For further information please contact:
Libby Woolnough - Medibank Private
T. (03) 8622 5181 or 0411 659 060
E: libby_Woolnough@medibank.com.au