Today, OBHG Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Simon sent a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee raising concerns about the country’s maternal mortality rate. In his letter, Dr. Simon warned that one of the primary challenges to improving U.S. maternal-fetal outcomes is clinical discrepancies in how care is delivered for pregnant women.
OB hospitalist programs are part of the solution, according to Dr. Simon.
“We believe one of the primary challenges to improving maternal-fetal outcomes is that in many American hospitals, there are clinical discrepancies in how care is delivered for pregnant women. When emergent pregnant women present to the hospital and are sent to a Labor and Delivery unit without a physician to see them, they receive a lower standard of care than other patients presenting to the Emergency Department, all of whom are seen by a physician, physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner. OBHG’s on-site solution elevates the standard of care for emergent pregnant women to that expected and given to all other patient populations,” wrote Dr. Simon in the letter.
Recently, the Congressional House Committee on Ways and Means mailed letters to 15 of the country’s largest hospital systems that operate more than 900 hospitals and together delivered more than one in five babies in 2015. The committee is requesting that leaders answer questions and provide investigators with copies of their childbirth safety protocols and data on mothers’ deaths and injuries. Hospitals have until November 15 to respond.
Dr. Simon noted that evidence-based practices are the foundation of OBHG’s work with its 160 hospital partners.
“Every clinician submits clinical information into our national database, which captures data used to track quality and outcome metrics. Clinicians at every partner hospital then draw on this network of evidence-based best practices to improve outcomes at the local level,” wrote Dr. Simon.
Dr. Simon also highlighted OBHG’s successes in hospitals with OB hospitalist programs, including improved VBAC attempts and decreased c-section rates; reductions in errors in high-risk or emergency situations; reductions in post-partum complications; and standardized processes that reduce variation and improve overall quality of care.
To learn more about the letter sent to the House Ways and Means Committee click here. Or feel free to contact us if you would like additional insights on how OB hospitalist programs can play a key role in addressing the nation’s unacceptable maternal mortality rate.