Blood clots affect up to 900,000 people in the United States each year, and cause about 100,000 deaths annually. About half of these blood clots happen after a recent hospital stay or surgery. These types of blood clots are referred to as healthcare-associated venous thromboembolism, or HA-VTE.
To support and prevent HA-VTE, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the HA-VTE Prevention Challenge in November of 2015. The challenge sought to recognize organizations – or Champions – that invest in VTE prevention, improve understanding of successful implementation strategies at the health system level, and motivate health systems to strengthen their VTE prevention efforts.
Now, these initiatives are showcased in a supplement of the Journal of Hospital Medicine. The journal supplement highlights the HA-VTE Prevention Challenge Champions’ initiatives, which have all been used successfully to improve HA-VTE prevention and include: Engaging different healthcare teams to support and promote VTE prevention activities; Informing patients and healthcare providers about the need for and benefits of VTE prevention; Using technology tools built into electronic medical records—risk assessment, clinical decision support tools, and alerts—so that healthcare providers can evaluate each patient’s risk for VTE and bleeding, and use appropriate prevention measures based on the level of risk; and Providing real-time feedback, scorecards, and dashboards for healthcare providers, hospitals, and health systems to monitor performance and identify areas for improvement.
How You Can Help Prevent HA-VTE
- Share the Journal supplement with your colleagues and friends
- Learn more about HA-VTE Prevention
- Learn more about the HA-VTE Prevention Challenge
More About Hospitalization and Blood Clots
The National Blood Clot Alliance has a microsite dedicated solely to issues concerning hospitalization and blood clots, as part of our Stop the Clot, Spread the Word™ public awareness campaign, which was developed in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Explore the following links to get more information about hospitalization and blood clot risks, including great information to share:
- Stop the Clot, Spread the Word™ Hospitalization Website
- Hospitalization and Blood Clot Risks Infographic
- Hospitalization and Blood Clots Video
