Overview
When people go to hospitals they expect to get better, not worse. Certainly most hospitals and hospital employees do a great job treating patients effectively and safely.
However, the spread of infections inside hospitals has become a significant problem. A recent scandal at Duke University Hospital has highlighted this problem in North Carolina. In 2004 and 2005, over 3,000 people were operated on with surgical equipment washed in hydraulic fluid.
While this high-profile mistake has caused hundreds of patients to suffer, the majority of hospital infections result from poor sanitary practices, rather than massive mix-ups. In all, the CDC estimates that at least 90,000 people die each year as a result of a hospital-acquired infection.
The good news is that hospitals can prevent these infections. By doing simple things, like regular hand washing, and by paying close attention to areas of treatment where infections are most common, hospital staff can greatly reduce these infections. Unfortunately, many hospitals do not take sufficient precautions.
With over 90,000 reported deaths each year nationwide, North Carolina should require its hospitals to disclose their rates of infection. If North Carolina requires hospitals to disclose these rates publicly, hospitals will have an incentive to clean up their act and consumers will have information that they deserve to know.
