Hospital Leader Challenges Others to Publicize Infection Rates
Paul Levy, chief executive at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, recently created a controversial Internet blog called “Running a Hospital,” reports the Boston Globe. In this weblog, Levy discusses the inner workings of an academic medical center including provocative issues such as the public availability of quality and safety data. Levy has challenged hospitals to publicize hospital infection rates and is seeking to gain competitive market advantage by openly providing information about Beth Israel’s quality performance.
Hospital-acquired infections are a healthcare issue that is in the public eye. Patient advocate groups, including the Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports are involved and are working to gain legislative support of this issue. The Consumers Union has developed the “Model Hospital Infections Disclosure Act (December 2006),” which provides very specific requirements for hospitals to address concerning disclosing infection rates. This Act, intended to be used on a state-by-state basis, says that “individual hospitals shall collect data on hospital-acquired infection rates for the specific clinical procedures,” including the following categories:
- “Surgical site infections;
- Ventilator-associated pneumonia;
- Central line-related bloodstream infections;
- Urinary tract infections; and
- Other categories as deemed appropriate by the advisory committee.”
The Act also discusses specific information about how and when hospitals will report hospital-acquired infection rates to the appropriate state agency. Currently, 16 states have passed laws that will give residents access to information about hospital-acquired infections. There are several bills under consideration by state legislatures this year.
According to the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID), hospital-acquired infections are the fourth largest cause of death in the U.S. About 2 million patients contract infections in hospitals each year and about 103,000 die from these infections. Since an estimated $30.5 billion is spent on costs associated with hospital-acquired infections, these costs can erode profits that might otherwise be achieved by hospitals. The “Unnecessary Deaths: The Human and Financial Costs of Hospital Infections“(.pdf), from the RID defines the problems, provides success stories and discusses practical steps to reduce the risk of hospital infection. By preventing hospital-acquired infections, quality of care and profitability will improve. Additionally, with many consumers comparing quality and safety measures, hospitals may be able to develop a competitive advantage.
Related coverage: Hospitals Decrease Bloodstream Infections.
February 26, 2007 Related topics: Legal & legislative, Finance, Quality, Safety, Errors