Infection Control

HAIs cost Australia $1 billion a year

Infection Control Weekly Monitor, September 9, 2009

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A study out of Queensland University of Technology in Australia estimates that sick or injured patients who contract HAIs cost the healthcare system more than $1 billion in “lost bed days” each year, according to NEWS.com.au.

The study estimates there are roughly 850,000 days in which a hospital bed is tied up treating an HAI when it could be available for an incoming patient.

“If rates were reduced by just 1%, then 150,158 bed days would be released for alternative uses, allowing an estimated 38,500 additional admissions annually,” lead researcher Nick Graves told NEWS.com.au.



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