AHA Joins Hands With Epic to Improve Childbirth Complication Risks

The American Hospital Association (AHA) and Epic are partnering to provide an array of solutions at the point of care to facilitate the identification and management of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). The initiative also emphasizes appropriate pph medications procurement and use, to improve outcomes.

PPH is a prevalent and severe complication associated with delivery. It is marked by fast and substantial hemorrhage, leading to a dangerous decline in blood pressure that may culminate in organ failure or, in severe instances, fatality.

PPH occurs in 3% to 5% of all births and accounts for over 11% of maternal fatalities in the U.S., as reported by AHA. It is the primary cause of significant maternal morbidity. Significantly, 40% of these hemorrhages transpire in individuals lacking any danger indicators.

The AHA and Epic are promoting awareness of point-of-care features in electronic health records that assist healthcare professionals in preventing, detecting and treating PPH. Among these tools are aids for deciding on pph medications, integrating clinical decision support about timing, dosing, and selection of uterotonic agents and adjuncts.

A PPH toolbox is now accessible to customers of Epic’s Stork Obstetrics Information System. This toolkit comprises methods for evaluating a mother’s hemorrhage risk, a system for continuously updating risk evaluations during childbirth and the postpartum stage, and integrated guides to assist in making clinical choices within distinctly defined risk groups, including which pph medications to use per risk class, as well as to assist in the management of acute hemorrhage every step of a clinician’s obstetric process, according to the companies.

Chris DeRienzo, the head physician executive at the American Hospital Association and a neonatologist, stated that the AHA and Epic both hold a strong shared dedication to enhancing overall health for mothers and infants. He noted that the new partnership builds upon ongoing improvement initiatives by offering evidence-based tools aimed at reducing the dreadful condition, describing it as a logical progression of the AHA’s Patient Safety Initiative—an effort focused on using data collaboratively to recognize and learn from patient safety advancements across hospitals and health systems nationwide.

Through this venture, the companies basically seek to assist hospitals in implementing point-of-care technological solutions by providing programs, resources, and opportunities to connect with hospitals that have achieved excellent results via risk assessments. Training in the use of pph medications as part of drills and obstetric workflows is included.

Jackie Gerhart, M.D., CMO at Epic, reaffirmed that every mother should have a secure delivery. She emphasized that their collaboration aims to equip clinicians with evidence-based, real-time tools to manage postpartum bleeding, helping caregivers respond swiftly during critical moments when time is of the essence. She specifically mentioned guidance around selecting correct pph medications when uterotonics are needed, and how to escalate to adjunct therapies if first-line medicines do not suffice.

Hospitals may ascertain patients’ bleeding risk by integrating a hemorrhage danger evaluation into their obstetric protocols. Clinicians assert that the PPH risk assessment must be conducted upon admission, at the commencement of the second phase of labor, after transition to postpartum care, and if the patient’s status changes. These evaluations classify individuals into three groups based on risk level, giving recommendations for drugs and other resources to prevent and manage bleeding within each risk class — including early administration of pph medications when risk is high.

---

Additional Content:

To bolster the impact of this collaboration, hospitals are also preparing updated protocols that include the latest data on pph medications such as oxytocin, misoprostol, methylergonovine, carboprost, and tranexamic acid. Clinical guidelines indicate that these uterotonic agents remain first-line treatments for PPH. NCBI+2AAFP+2

Moreover, the toolkit encourages hospitals to stock essential pph medications and ensure rapid access during delivery and postpartum periods. Pharmacy coordination with obstetrics teams is being emphasized to reduce delays in medication administration when hemorrhage is suspected.

The performance data from early adopters—such as Baptist Health in Arkansas and WakeMed in North Carolina—show that use of real-time risk-assessment, coupled with readiness in pph medications handling, has led to measurable improvements in reducing severe hemorrhage rates. American Hospital Association+2Fierce Healthcare+2

Finally, ongoing surveillance and feedback loops will allow assessment of adverse events, especially concerning pph medications side effects (e.g., hypertension with methylergonovine, asthma risk with prostaglandins), ensuring safety as well as effectiveness. Hospitals aiming for excellence in maternal care are also incorporating patient education around risks and options, including understanding which pph medications may be used after delivery if bleeding occurs.