Hospital Safety

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A ground-breaking report released by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council shows that Pennsylvania hospitals reported more than 11,600 patients got infections in 2004 while seeking medical care. These infections—often the result of inadequate sanitary practices or failure to use effective prevention procedures—led to the death of 1,793 patients in the state. Read the press release.

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Overview

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 90,000 patients die every year due to infections acquired at hospitals.

Yet many states do not have laws on the books requiring hospitals to report how many patients get infections at their facilities as a result of inadequate sanitary practices or procedures. Letting the public know which hospitals have the best or worst infection rates allows patients to make informed choices about where to seek treatment, and pressures hospitals to improve their practices.

U.S. PIRG is working with Consumers Union—the publisher of Consumer Reports—to keep pressure on hospitals to comply with existing laws and is urging other states to pass similar laws.

Hospitals should be places where people get better, not more sick. Yet, lax safety precautions and improper cleaning leave many at risk. U.S. PIRG is working to make hospitals disclose their records of hospital-acquired infections.

News

Colorado Lawmakers Approve Reporting Of Hospital Infections

1/3/2006 Denver, CO – In response to alarming new evidence of the high rate of hospital-acquired infections in the U.S., the Health and Human Services committee in the Colorado House of Representatives approved a new consumer protection today. Read more.

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