The challenges hospitals and health systems face in providing patient care with consistently high levels of safety and quality have never been more complicated, or more important. Inpatient admission data from hospital and health system members of Advisory Board's technology programs consistently show patient severity levels increasing over the past three years—indicating that hospital inpatients are sicker and that managing their outcomes is more difficult. At the same time, public awareness of safety failures—together with increased attention to quality metrics by consumers and payers—means that performance shortfalls are under greater scrutiny. Furthermore, publicly reported metrics such as rates of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) and readmissions carry the potential for payment penalties imposed by health plans and government payers alike.