Hospital Deaths From Infection Approach 100,000
An estimated 1.7 million patients acquire an infection while hospitalized and a startling 99,000 patients die from hospital-acquired infections each year, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This is not a new problem for the medical community, which has been slow to take action. What is most disturbing is that efforts to address this issue (as well as others related to medical errors) only became a priority after the federal government ruled that Medicare will no longer reimburse for care that results from hospital or physician errors. It took a threat to the bottom line before these providers did the right thing and took actions that should have happened long before now.
