A very relevant article! 
Publication authorized by Statelin.org
Wednesday, August 10, 2005 :: infoZine
Staff :: page views
Faced with a
modern-day medical challenge, states increasingly are taking steps to track the
number of patients who acquire serious infections while hospitalized.
Eight states - including four with new laws this year - now require hospitals
to track the number of patients who acquire staph and other infections while
hospitalized, amid indications that the cost of these medical complications -
in both dollars and lives - is mounting.
Last month, Pennsylvania became the first state to release statistics on
hospital-acquired infections. The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment
Council reported that 11,668 patients contracted infections at hospitals in the
state in 2004, resulting in 1,800 deaths and $2 billion in medical costs.
These new totals suggest that infections' impact on the health-care system
might exceed predictions. The Centers for Disease Control previously estimated
that hospital-acquired infections each year add $5 billion to U.S. health costs
and result in 88,000 deaths - more fatalities than in highway accidents
Many infections stem from surgical sites or the use of
catheters or ventilators. Others result when basic sanitary precautions are not
taken. Recent studies of hospitals suggest that as many as 10,000 lives could
be saved annually through better hand washing.
Of the eight states now tracking infection rates, six tack on the requirement that
hospitals must
Of the eight states now tracking infection rates, six tack on the
requirement that hospitals must publicly release their numbers. New York and
Virginia passed new laws this year while Florida, Illinois, Missouri and
Pennsylvania already required disclosure.
Nevada and Nebraska enacted laws this year calling requiring hospitals to
collect but not publicly reveal the number of infections. Legislatures in
Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas approved resolutions to study the process of
hospital reporting to design future legislation.
Measures to reduce hospital infections were submitted in 35 states this year.
Bills are still under consideration in California, Michigan, Massachusetts, New
Jersey and Ohio.
President Bush signed on July 29 the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act
of 2005, which encourages health-care providers to log and report all medical
errors to certain patient-safety groups but keeps the data anonymous. The bill
provides that the reports could not be used against hospitals in malpractice
suits, but would instead be used to monitor the standard of care.
Efforts at the state level put a stronger emphasis on public reporting, fueled
in part by consumer advocates and patients' rights groups. One particularly
active group is Consumers Union, which created StopHospitalInfections.org. The
organization advocates for disclosure of infection rates to increase hospital
accountability and to allow patients to make informed choices about their
health care.
In states that have not passed legislation requiring public reporting,
hospitals have been reluctant to comply with state rules requiring statistics
on infection rates. Some worry that hospital-specific data could be misleading,
as certain hospitals might have higher infection totals because of the types of
cases they treat. Many hospitals do not screen for infections at admittance, so
any count could include previously contracted conditions.
In other cases, hospitals have set their own guidelines. In Maryland, the state
hospital association created its own data collection and reporting system and
will begin releasing updates on infection rates in the next year. The state
Legislature had considered but failed to pass a mandatory reporting rule, which
was opposed by the hospitals.
"Our position was that it was not necessary to legislate because that
process was already being tackled by the [Maryland Health Care Commission
(MHCC)]. They were already ahead of the curve," said Nancy Fiedler, senior
vice president of communications at the Maryland Hospital Association.
Fiedler added that the MHCC's approach is to gradually determine how to best
collect and understand data.
"The problem is trying to get your arms around this issue. What do you
want to report? What is it that you can count, and how do you do it in a
cost-effective manner? It sounds straightforward, but there are so many
different aspects," she said.
The Pennsylvania report may illustrate potential obstacles to accurate
reporting. Sixteen hospitals reported no infections, a result met with
incredulity. And while close to 12,000 infections were reported by hospitals,
nearly 10 times as many were billed by consumers. The state commission has
declined to release hospital-specific information because of such
inconsistencies.
 Stateline.org
Contact Hayley Winn at :
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