One problem identified by quality improvement initiatives is that even when we learn that something works, it takes a long time to be adopted by a critical mass of doctors or hospitals. We need to figure out how to disseminate the information better, and develop incentives to get it acted on quickly. HealthCare IT News reports that 19 New England hospitals are taking up that challenge, forming a "Rapid Adoption" virtual network that will help them exchange information and speed up clinical improvement.

The initiative includes both a few big academic medical centers like Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center as well as hospitals in smaller communities throughout New England.

The goal is very specific - preventing pressure ulcers (severe bed sores) using techniques that have been proven to work elsewhere. Pressure ulcers - which are often preventable - lead to higher infection rates, debility, pain, as well as the cost of medication and the treatment of wound care. They can be lethal.

"By working together, meeting in real time and virtually, we can share information about how we each perform with other members in the network, enabling us to achieve rapid clinical improvements and provide better care for our patients," Mary Catherine Rawls, clinical nurse specialist for surgery and surgical specialties at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center said.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), there were about a quarter-million preventable pressure ulcers reported as secondary diagnoses in hospitals in fiscal 2007. The average cost of each of those pressure ulcers is estimated to be $43,180 per hospital stay. With Medicare set to stop paying for treatment of avoidable conditions, pressure ulcers are high on hospitals' "fix it now" agendas.