• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Pennsylvania first state to report hospital infection rates

Infection Control Monitor, November 17, 2006

Pennsylvania became the first state this week to publicly report the number of patients who contracted an infection while in one of its 168 hospitals in 2005, according to news reports.

It's a move that may boost efforts for public reporting of hospital quality data nationwide, reported USA Today. More than 19,000 Pennsylvania patients developed a hospital-acquired infection, which drove up costs and death rates.

The report found on average 12.2 patients per 1,000 got an infection, costing $3.5 billion in hospital charges. The result was 2,745 patients who died after becoming infected. The death rate for patients who got a hospital-acquired infection was 12.9%, compared to the rate of 2.3% for those who did not. The average charge for patients who contracted a hospital-acquired infection was $185,260, compared to $31,389 for those who did not, the report stated.

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, an independent state agency, compiled the hospital data for the report. Under Pennsylvania state law, hospitals must report infection rates for four broad types of infection: surgical site, urinary tract, pneumonia, and blood stream.

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive