Study: Hospital Infections Kill 48,000 People Every Year
A new study estimates that approximately 48,000 people are killed every year from hospital infections. Most of these deaths occur from two of the most common and deadliest hospital infections - pneumonia and sepsis.
The researchers in the study looked at discharge records between 1998 and 2006 across 40 states. They found that pneumonia and sepsis accounted for most of the fatalities, and that these infections resulted in treatment costs of $8.1 billion. This means that treatment costs for hospital-acquired infections amounts to approximately 1% of the total expenditure on health care in the country.
That isn't good news for patients waiting to get admitted into a hospital, but it also doesn't mean that you have absolutely no control over your health during and after your hospital visit. Experts advise that you arm yourself with information and knowledge in order to reduce your risks of contracting dangerous bloodstream infections like sepsis, or deadly respiratory infections like pneumonia during your hospital stay.
• Ask your doctors what kind of infection control and prevention strategies they use.
• Ask your doctors if it would help if you were screened for MRSA.
• Ask if you will be given antibiotic therapy before your surgical procedure to prevent infections.
• Insist that doctors and nurses wash their hands where you can see them before they proceed to examine you.
• Ask your doctors if they follow a surgical checklist that has been proved to dramatically reduce the risk of contracting a bloodstream infection. The checklist was developed by Dr. Peter Pronovost of John Hopkins, and has been found to cut infection rates by more than 60%.
Asking questions like these informs your doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals that you are aware of patient safety protocols, and reminds them of their duties and responsibilities. Informed patients can bolster infection prevention efforts.
The Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at Theodoros & Rooth represent persons injured because of surgical errors, emergency room errors, failure to diagnose , misdiagnoses, and other forms of medical negligence.
