It's common sense. Patients shouldn't have to pay to treat infections they got while in the hospital. Even Congress agrees -- the health care reform bills passed in the House and Senate would prohibit these payments.
Moreover, as written, health reform would require hospitals to report their infection rates, so patients have the information they need to choose the best, safest hospital for surgery, illness or childbirth. Changes like these have been successful in 27 states. It's past time to extend these safety incentives to every hospital in every community.
Please sign our petition to help make sure these common-sense changes survive the health care reform battle.
Nearly 100,000 people die every year from hospital-acquired infections. That's the equivalent of a jumbo jet full of people falling from the sky every other day. If jets started to crash like that, the federal response would be swift and strong. We should now expect any less here.
Dear Congressmember [Name],
Saving nearly 100,00 American lives and up to $45 billion each year can be simple if hospitals take the necessary steps to prevent the spread of deadly infections among their patients. You have the opportunity right now to give hospitals the incentive to prevent these infections by requiring them to publicly report their infection rates.
This common-sense incentive will go a long way to helping end unnecessary hospital-acquired infections in our country, and I urge you to support it in any healthcare legislation.
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Public reporting works. In Pennsylvania, where hospitals must report all infections, the rate dropped by 8% over the past two years of public reporting. Although 27 states have passed laws requiring hospitals to report this important patient safety information, people in every state should be able to compare the record of their local hospitals' prevention programs. All Americans should know that their hospitals are being held accountable for providing the safest care possible.
Research has identified many ways hospitals can prevent infections but most are not using these techniques with every patient: Routine hand-washing between patients is only being done by doctors and nurses 50% of the time. Isolation of patients with infections or those carrying antibiotic superbugs is not regularly practiced. Every surgical patient is not getting preventive antibiotics in the proper manner. And, many ICUs fail to use a simple checklist for inserting catheters that we know could save tens of thousands of lives.
Is there anything that kills 100,000 people every year that gets less attention than hospital-acquired infections? There should be a strong and consistent federal response to this mostly preventable problem.
Please work to require public reporting of hospital-acquired infections by all of our nation's hospitals, and give me and my family information about the safest medical care possible.
