Dennis Wagner: Reducing preventable harm at hospitals

Medicine errors, infections, pressure ulcers - they kill tens of thousands of hospital patients every year. But in the last several years, the level of preventable...

Medicine errors, infections, pressure ulcers - they kill tens of thousands of hospital patients every year. No wonder people say hospitals are where you go to die. But in the last several years, the level of preventable harm has fallen nearly 40 percent. That's due in large part to a concerted effort by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in concert with 3,700 hospitals under its Partnership for Patients program. Dennis Wagner is the director of quality improvement and innovation group centers at CMS. He, along with chief medical officer Paul McGann and deputy director Jean Mood-Williams, are finalists in this year's Service to America Medals Program, and joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

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