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Hospital Infections Kill More Than Cars, AIDS, Breast Cancer
Hospital Infections Kill More Than Cars, AIDS, Breast Cancer
By Dan Childs
ABC News Medical Unit 11-15-6
A hospital visit may be more dangerous to your health than you realize. Just ask Ingrid Kwiatek,
who came home from the hospital with a serious staph infection.
Kwiatek's husband said what started as a routine hospital visit turned into an 110-day nightmare of
pain and suffering in three different Pennsylvania hospitals.
"I would never wish this experience on anyone," he said. "Especially distressing was the
closed-ranks attitude at all three hospitals in discussing the infection."
Following the incident, Kwiatek's family doctor had this to say: "Hospitals are dirty places."
The High Cost of Infections A new report released by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost
Containment Council pointed to the high cost of these infections in both dollars and lives.
The report - the first of its kind in the nation - identified the actual number of infections reported by
Pennsylvania's 168 hospitals, as well as other related quality-of-care measures, in 2005.
The hospitals studied reported 19,154 cases in which patients contracted hospital-acquired
infections. The hospitalizations resulting from these infections amounted to 394,129 hospital days
and $3.5 billion in hospital charges.
The average hospital charge for patients with a hospital-acquired infection was $185,260, while the
average charge for patients without hospital-acquired infections was $31,389. The average length
of stay for patients with hospital-acquired infections was also longer at 20.6 days, compared with
4.5 days, for those who didn't contract hospital infections.
Most telling, though, were the figures on patient deaths. The report said that while 2.3 percent of
patients who didn't acquire infections died, the mortality rate for those who did contract infections
was 12.9 percent - more than 512 times as high.
"This report is a first. We are no longer looking at statistics based on estimates or extrapolated
data," said Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumers Union's Stop Hospital Infections campaign.
"These are real people who suffered from real infections. The personal and financial costs of
hospital infections are staggering."
The Pennsylvania study did offer a few solutions. It said that doctors and other hospital workers
should wash their hands more regularly, use gloves and properly sterilized equipment, and
routinely follow established "best practices." The report also suggested that patients should follow
the same guidelines and insist that not only health care providers but visitors wash their hands too.
Shedding Light on Hospital Safety What adds to the problem, though, according to health officials,
is that most states are not required to report infections or provide such information to the public.
"It's time to shine the light on this important and costly issue," said Marc Volavka, executive director
of Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. "This will save thousands of Americans
from the devastating effects of hospital-acquired infections."
Volavka said the report is a first step toward greater transparency.
"It's time that hospitals, patients and those who pay the bill know how many patients develop
hospital-acquired infections, the type of infections they develop and the quality and cost
implications," Volavka said. "The more information that becomes available, the better the focus will
be on preventing these infections."
"Until now, consumers have been completely in the dark about their hospital's record on infecting
patients," said Beth McConnell, director of the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group
Education Fund. "This report sheds light on a very serious problem and will help the public hold
hospitals accountable for patient safety."
Source: www.rense.com
By Dan Childs
ABC News Medical Unit 11-15-6
A hospital visit may be more dangerous to your health than you realize. Just ask Ingrid Kwiatek,
who came home from the hospital with a serious staph infection.
Kwiatek's husband said what started as a routine hospital visit turned into an 110-day nightmare of
pain and suffering in three different Pennsylvania hospitals.
"I would never wish this experience on anyone," he said. "Especially distressing was the
closed-ranks attitude at all three hospitals in discussing the infection."
Following the incident, Kwiatek's family doctor had this to say: "Hospitals are dirty places."
The High Cost of Infections A new report released by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost
Containment Council pointed to the high cost of these infections in both dollars and lives.
The report - the first of its kind in the nation - identified the actual number of infections reported by
Pennsylvania's 168 hospitals, as well as other related quality-of-care measures, in 2005.
The hospitals studied reported 19,154 cases in which patients contracted hospital-acquired
infections. The hospitalizations resulting from these infections amounted to 394,129 hospital days
and $3.5 billion in hospital charges.
The average hospital charge for patients with a hospital-acquired infection was $185,260, while the
average charge for patients without hospital-acquired infections was $31,389. The average length
of stay for patients with hospital-acquired infections was also longer at 20.6 days, compared with
4.5 days, for those who didn't contract hospital infections.
Most telling, though, were the figures on patient deaths. The report said that while 2.3 percent of
patients who didn't acquire infections died, the mortality rate for those who did contract infections
was 12.9 percent - more than 512 times as high.
"This report is a first. We are no longer looking at statistics based on estimates or extrapolated
data," said Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumers Union's Stop Hospital Infections campaign.
"These are real people who suffered from real infections. The personal and financial costs of
hospital infections are staggering."
The Pennsylvania study did offer a few solutions. It said that doctors and other hospital workers
should wash their hands more regularly, use gloves and properly sterilized equipment, and
routinely follow established "best practices." The report also suggested that patients should follow
the same guidelines and insist that not only health care providers but visitors wash their hands too.
Shedding Light on Hospital Safety What adds to the problem, though, according to health officials,
is that most states are not required to report infections or provide such information to the public.
"It's time to shine the light on this important and costly issue," said Marc Volavka, executive director
of Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. "This will save thousands of Americans
from the devastating effects of hospital-acquired infections."
Volavka said the report is a first step toward greater transparency.
"It's time that hospitals, patients and those who pay the bill know how many patients develop
hospital-acquired infections, the type of infections they develop and the quality and cost
implications," Volavka said. "The more information that becomes available, the better the focus will
be on preventing these infections."
"Until now, consumers have been completely in the dark about their hospital's record on infecting
patients," said Beth McConnell, director of the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group
Education Fund. "This report sheds light on a very serious problem and will help the public hold
hospitals accountable for patient safety."
Source: www.rense.com