Background There is increasing national focus on hospital initiatives to improve obstetric and neonatal outcomes. While costs of providing care may decrease with improved quality, the accompanying reduced adverse outcomes may impact hospital revenues. The purpose of this study was to estimate, from a hospital perspective, the financial impacts of implementing a perinatal quality and safety initiative. Methods In 2008, a Minnesota-based health system (Fairview Health Services) launched the Zero Birth Injury (ZBI) initiative, which uses evidence-based care bundles to guide management of obstetric services. We conducted a pre-post analysis of financial impacts of ZBI, using hospital administrative records to measure costs and revenues associated with changes in maternal and neonatal birth injuries before (2008) and after (2009–11) the initiative. Results After adjusting for relevant covariates, implementation of ZBI was associated with an 11% decrease in the rate of maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes between 2008 and 2011 (AOR=0.89, p=0.076). As a result of the adverse events avoided, the hospital system saved $284,985 in costs but earned $324,333 less revenue, which produced a net financial decrease of $39,348 (or a $305 net financial loss per adverse event avoided) in 2011, compared with 2008. Conclusions Adoption of a perinatal quality and safety initiative that reduced birth injuries had little net financial impact on the hospital. ZBI produced better clinical results at a lower cost, which represents potential savings for payers, but the hospital system offering increased quality reaped no clear financial rewards. These results highlight the important role for shared-savings collaborations (among patients, providers, government and third-party payers, and employers) to incentivize quality improvement. Widespread adoption of perinatal safety initiatives combined with innovative payment models may contribute to better health at reduced cost.

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Key to any perinatal safety initiative is buy-in and strong leadership from obstetric and pediatric providers, advanced practice nurses, and labor and delivery nurses in collaboration with ancillary staff. In the fall of 2007, executives of a large Midwestern hospital system created the Zero Birth Injury Initiative. This multidisciplinary group sought to eliminate birth injury using the Institute of Healthcare Improvement Perinatal Bundles. Concurrently, the team implemented a standardized second-stage labor guideline for women who choose epidural analgesia for pain management to continue the work of eliminating birth injuries in second-stage labor. The purpose of this article was to describe the process of the modification and adaptation of a standardized second-stage labor guideline, as well as adherence rates of these guidelines into clinical practice. Prior to implementation, a Web-based needs assessment survey of providers was conducted. Most (77% of 180 respondents) believed there was a need for an evidence-based guideline to manage the second stage of labor. The guideline was implemented at 5 community hospitals and 1 academic health center. Data were prospectively collected during a 3-month period for adherence assessment at 1 community hospital and 1 academic health center. Providers adhered to the guideline in about 57% of births. Of patients whose provider followed the guideline, 75% of women were encouraged to delay pushing compared with only 28% of patients delayed pushing when the provider did not follow the guideline.