An acquaintance was in the hospital a few weeks ago, but he ended up staying much longer than would have ordinarily been necessary. Why? He got an infection while he was there.
It would seem that infections could be easily prevented. An expert on the subject is Betsy McCaughey, a former New York lieutenant governor with a Ph.D. in public health policy. She's an outspoken critic of hospitals and their inability to prevent infections, and she says that infections are the fourth leading killer following heart disease, cancer and stroke.
The CDC says "at least 50 percent of those infections are preventable by one change, getting doctors and other health-care workers to clean their hands in between treating patients," McCaughey said.The hospital industry agrees, saying there is a need for better hygiene practices overall. /snip/
Hospital infections are an ugly but well hidden secret in America's health-care system. McCaughey said.
"You can't get the information you need to avoid hospitals that have a serious infection problem or history of medical errors," she said. "Most hospitals don't report that information and state governments won't release the information they do have." Source: ABCNews.com.
And, if that's not bad enough, the patient gets stuck with the expense: "One serious bloodstream infection adds $35,000 to a hospital bill." Source: American Enterprise Online.
Oh, now that really hurts!
A doctor once told me that no one gets well until after they've left the hospital.
Posted by: Redman | June 01, 2004 at 09:28 AM