Hospitals Make Strides in Patient Safety and Quality

August 12, 2025

A new report shows hospitals in the U.S. continue to improve patient safety, while caring for patients with increasingly significant health care needs.

Researchers analyzed data related to patient safety, reducing infections, expediting the diagnosis and provision of lifesaving treatments for heart attack and stroke, and preventing unnecessary readmissions, according to the report issued by the American Hospital Association (AHA). The report compared first quarter results to the pre-pandemic baseline, noting significant progress in that span.

Here are a few key takeaways:

• Exceeding expectations:  The data analysis shows not only a rebound but an improvement in pre-pandemic performance in patient safety.
• Survival rates on the rise:  Despite being sicker and more complex, hospitalized patients in the first quarter of 2024 were on average over 20 percent more likely to survive than expected given the severity of their illnesses compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
• By the numbers:  Hospitals cared for more patients overall in the first quarter of 2024 than in the last quarter of 2019, including providing care to a sicker, more complex patient population.
• Increases in cancer screenings:  Not only did multiple key preventive health screenings rapidly rebound to pre-pandemic levels, but ongoing improvement has led to a 60 percent to 80 percent increase in breast, colon, and cervical cancer screenings in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter 2019.
• Fewer infections:  In the first quarter of 2024, both central line-associated bloodstream infections and catheter-associated urinary tract infections, were at rates lower than those recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The report from the AHA used data analyzed by Vizient. The AHA’s Patient Safety Initiative, which was launched in 2023, is a collaborative, data-driven effort that helps hospitals and health systems work together to reinforce and accelerate patient safety efforts. For more information, visit AHA’s Patient Safety Initiative webpage.