Elevance Health Foundation Launches Patient Safety Prize Program

The Elevance Health Foundation has introduced a new prize program focused on improving patient safety, according to Fierce Healthcare. The program's first round of winners will receive a total of $4 million in prizes, with the goal of identifying community-based solutions to address critical patient safety risks. The foundation's Patient Safety Prize falls under its Community Action Leadership umbrella, allowing the team to expand its focus areas. This initiative is significant as it highlights the importance of patient safety and the need for innovative solutions to address related challenges.

The winners of the first round include Care Synergy's CAPABLE program, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the Public Health Institute's Population Health Innovation Lab, and the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation. These organizations are working on initiatives such as fall prevention, medication error reduction, and health literacy improvement. The CAPABLE program, for example, helps older adults remain independent and stay in their homes longer, with a key focus on fall prevention. NYU Grossman and the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation are working on medication error reduction, while the Population Health Innovation Lab is addressing health literacy.

Shantanu Agrawal, M.D., chief health officer at Elevance Health, noted that the company's foundation brings a unique perspective to patient safety. The foundation sees an opportunity to play a greater role in supporting safety by working with various actors and identifying innovative ideas. Agrawal emphasized the importance of fall prevention, medication management, and literacy initiatives in the broader patient safety landscape, citing a strong foundation of evidence supporting these areas.

Agrawal explained that fall prevention is a key community health focus, as older adults wish to maintain their independence for as long as possible. A fall can lead to a series of medical events, creating a complex patient journey. Additionally, a patient with greater health literacy can be more engaged in their own health and recognize risks before an adverse event occurs. The program chose to focus on these areas due to the robust data supporting their importance.

The team selected winners based on their potential to benefit from the investment and their established approach, with evidence and data to support their initiatives. Alongside financial support, the Elevance Health Foundation is challenging the winning organizations to find community partners and expand their perspective. This approach aims to drive more community involvement in patient safety initiatives, an area that Agrawal believes is currently untapped.

Agrawal noted that a key takeaway from the program's first year is the ability of Elevance, as the convener, to drive more community involvement in patient safety platforms. He emphasized that there are many great organizations working on patient safety, but few are seeking to connect with communities and make safety part of the community dialog. The Patient Safety Prize program aims to address this gap and support the growth of innovative patient safety initiatives.

The launch of the Patient Safety Prize program marks an important step in addressing patient safety risks. As the program moves forward, it will be essential to monitor its progress and impact. The Elevance Health Foundation's initiative has the potential to drive meaningful change in patient safety, and its focus on community-based solutions and collaboration with various actors may lead to scalable and effective initiatives.