Eighty-seven percent of U.S. hospitals do not comply with recommended steps for preventing infections, according to a new study.
A survey of 1,256 hospitals conducted by The Leapfrog Group showed that the vast majority of hospitals do not have policies to prevent many of the most common hospital-acquired infections.
According to Leapfrog, one out of every 20 hospital patients annually contracts an infection during their care. Of 2 million people who acquire an infection, 90,000 of them die, Leapfrog said. Hospital-acquired infections add an average of more than $15,000 to a patient's hospital bill, amounting to more than $30 billion a year wasted on avoidable costs.
Jill Berger, chair of The Leapfrog Group said, "There are protocols that every hospital should have in place to prevent infections. Unfortunately, many hospitals are missing the mark and that spells trouble for everyone: the patient, the hospital and the healthcare system."
It appears the federal government is already aware of such a problem. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Aug. 18 announced Medicare will no longer pay for additional costs incurred for certain hospital-acquired infections.
Herb Kuhn, deputy administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said, "A continued focus on hospital acquired infections provides critical information as both public and private purchasers implement payment policies to provide incentives for improvement in this area."
The Leapfrog survey gathered information on:
- aspiration and ventilator associated pneumonia
- central venous catheter related bloodstream infection
- surgical site infection
- influenza.
The survey also asked about hand-washing hygiene, which can impact the rates of several different kinds of hospital-acquired infection. For each of these areas, Leapfrog also asked how a hospital surveyed its staff for infection prevention and whether management is held accountable for reducing preventable infections.