At a speech before the United Nurses of America's 12th National Nurses Congress, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius challenged hospitals to work to reduce healthcare associated infections.
Her challenge came in conjunction with the release of two new reports on healthcare quality in America. Published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the annual 2008 National Healthcare Quality Report and 2008 National Healthcare Disparities Report indicate patient safety measures have worsened and a substantial number of Americans do not receive recommended care.
Upon issuing the reports, Sebelius announced the availability of $50 million in Recovery Act resources to fight healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and improve patient safety.
"Healthcare-associated infections can make illnesses worse, further debilitate patients who are already struggling and sometimes lead to death," said Sebelius. "Through the funding provided by the Recovery Act, we can help prevent these infections and improve the quality of care for all patients."
Patient safety has declined in part because of an increase in HAIs, which patients acquire during their stay in a healthcare setting, such as a nursing home or a hospital. HAIs are among the top 10 leading causes death in the United States and drive up the cost of healthcare by up to $20 billion per year.
"(The) reports show why we can't wait to enact comprehensive health reform," said Sebelius. "The status quo is unsustainable and we cannot allow millions of Americans to continue to go without the care they need and deserve."
The reports found:
- Forty percent of recommended care is not received by patients.
- Only 40 percent of diabetic patients received three recommended diabetic preventive exams in the past year, and this rate has not improved over time.
- Half of all obese adults and children are given advice to exercise more and eat a healthy diet.
- Seven out of 10 adults with mood, anxiety or impulse disorders received inadequate treatment or no treatment at all.
- Disparities in healthcare persist. Minority patients receive disproportionately poor care compared to caucasian patients. At least 60 percent of quality measures have not improved for minorities compared to caucasians in the past six years.
- One in seven hospitalized Medicare patients experience one or more adverse event.
- Patient safety measures have worsened by nearly 1 pecent each year for the past six years.
- Central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs) strike hundreds of thousands of patients each year.
Of the $50 million released by Sebelius, HHS plans to make $40 million available through competitive grants to eligible states to create or expand state-based HAI prevention and surveillance efforts and strengthen the public health workforce trained to prevent HAIs. HHS is allocating the remaining $10 million in grants to states to improve the process and increase the frequency of inspections for ambulatory surgical centers.
Sebelius called on hospitals across America to commit to reduce central line associated blood stream infections in intensive care units by 75 percent over the next three years. Research indicates that these infections strike hundreds of thousands of surgical patients and the percentage of patients acquiring these infections has steadily increased over the past six years.
"Patients expect to get better in a healthcare facility, not worse" she said. "The Recovery Act money will help protect patient safety, but we need hospitals to do more. I'm challenging hospitals to take basic steps to fight infections that are weakening our healthcare system and threatening patient safety."