Profession
Report: Public reporting could cut Mass. hospital-acquired infections
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 3, 2007
Massachusetts patients who acquire infections during their hospital stays account for as much as $473 million in additional medical costs annually, according to a report a private research firm prepared for the state.
The study recommended 135 changes to reduce the toll of hospital-acquired infections, such as requiring hospitals to publicly reveal infections related to hip and knee replacements and catheter insertion. The volume of those procedures allows for the most accurate data to compare how hospitals fare against one another, according to Lisa Hirschhorn, MD, MPH, principal investigator for the firm that prepared the report, JSI Research and Training Institute Inc.
Nineteen other states already require some form of public infection reporting. Hospital-associated infections nationwide kill about 90,000 patients each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/09/03/prbf0903.htm.
