Five years ago the Department of Health and Human Services looked at the rates of hospital caused infections and found them intolerable. 600,000 patients a year are sickened by infections acquired while hospitalized and 75,000 die of the infections. A five year plan was established to eliminate hospital acquired infections. The time is up and Consumers Union, a division of Consumers Report, has looked at the results of the program.
3000 hospitals reported their infection rates over the five year time period. While there was improvement in most areas the improvement rate was small and the industry did not meet the goal of eliminating hospital acquired infection.
In summary:
Most states significantly reduced "central line associated bloodstream infections but it appears that most of that improvement occurred in the first couple years of the program and by 2013 most states did not show continuing improvement.
Except for abdominal hysterectomies, surgical infections rates were somewhat improved. Other surgical procedures showed good reduction in infection rates, especially hip and knee replacements surgery.
The rate of Catheter-associated infections actually rose 6% and proved to be the biggest challenge of the study.
MRSA AND C.difficile infections cause more than 25,000 deaths each year. In regards to MRSA, 24 states did significantly reduce their rate of this dangerous infection, seven states actually had higher rates and the rest showed no change. Most states showed an improvment in dealing with C.difficile. This data is not really complete as it only identifies infections that showed up while the patient was in hospital and most infections aren't identified until after the patient is released.
So, there have been small strides. Some hospitals have shown more improvement than others, as you would expect.
"The CDC does not disclose hospital-specific rates for the infections covered by this report, but these can be found on the federal Hospital Compare web site. Many states provide hospital-specific
reports also, some covering more infection measures than are reported nationally. Go to the Safe
Patient Project for links to these state reports."
Having a catheter may be a necessary part of your hospitalization but it remains a stubborn risk for infection. Removing it as soon as feasible is a good idea.
3000 hospitals reported their infection rates over the five year time period. While there was improvement in most areas the improvement rate was small and the industry did not meet the goal of eliminating hospital acquired infection.
In summary:
Most states significantly reduced "central line associated bloodstream infections but it appears that most of that improvement occurred in the first couple years of the program and by 2013 most states did not show continuing improvement.
Except for abdominal hysterectomies, surgical infections rates were somewhat improved. Other surgical procedures showed good reduction in infection rates, especially hip and knee replacements surgery.
The rate of Catheter-associated infections actually rose 6% and proved to be the biggest challenge of the study.
MRSA AND C.difficile infections cause more than 25,000 deaths each year. In regards to MRSA, 24 states did significantly reduce their rate of this dangerous infection, seven states actually had higher rates and the rest showed no change. Most states showed an improvment in dealing with C.difficile. This data is not really complete as it only identifies infections that showed up while the patient was in hospital and most infections aren't identified until after the patient is released.
So, there have been small strides. Some hospitals have shown more improvement than others, as you would expect.
"The CDC does not disclose hospital-specific rates for the infections covered by this report, but these can be found on the federal Hospital Compare web site. Many states provide hospital-specific
reports also, some covering more infection measures than are reported nationally. Go to the Safe
Patient Project for links to these state reports."
Having a catheter may be a necessary part of your hospitalization but it remains a stubborn risk for infection. Removing it as soon as feasible is a good idea.
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