ABSTRACT
Illingworth et al. in the American Journal of Medical Quality found a strong, statistically significant correlation in Louisiana and Texas as quality improves in the quality improvement measures, the xs, and a reduction in the frequency of medical liability claims.1 In Figure 14.1, we see the inflection point when quality improvement is correlated with a significant reduction in the frequency of liability claims. In early 2003, Louisiana hospitals began achieving higher mean scores in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quality measures. In this same time frame, the mean monthly claims started reducing. By 2006, the organizations were achieving nearly zero defects in compliance to evidence-based process measures and benefitting from the lowest mean monthly claims from approximately a mean of 4.5 to 2.5.
