Focusing on quality and change in intensive care units.

Of the 5 million patients who will be admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) this year, about 10% will die and many will incur preventable adverse events. However, lessons learned through recent initiatives across the country--emphasizing teamwork, leadership, technology, data, outcomes, and best practices--could spell great changes ahead for all ICUs. These initiatives range from the simple and inexpensive (such as healthcare professionals washing their hands after patient encounters or elevating the heads of patients using mechanical ventilators) to the use of electronic monitoring. But all require commitments--by everyone from the people working day-to-day in the ICU to those in charge of healthcare facilities--to make those changes and provide quality care.