Fwd: Your Alternative Health Newsletter--Special Edition...URGENT

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Tue, 28 Oct 2003 11:50:25 -0800

Your Alternative Health Newsletter--Special Edition...URGENT

 

" Frank Grazian "

 

PROPOSED LAW HIDES PATIENT SAFETY, HOSPITAL INFECTION DATA FROM PUBLIC

VIEW

 

New web site -- www.StopHospitalInfections.org -- helps consumers voice

concerns

 

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, is asking Senators to

halt the rapid advance of a bill that would make it nearly impossible

for consumers to compare the quality of care provided by doctors and

hospitals, as well as keep hospital infection rates from becoming

public.

 

Medical error legislation, H.R. 663, has already passed the House, and

its Senate companion, S. 720, has cleared the Senate Committee on

Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The Senate bill could come to

the Senate floor shortly.

 

These bills could set back state disclosure laws by keeping all types

of " patient safety data " hidden from public view. They define ìpatient

safety dataî so broadly that the definition will cover hospital

infection rates and outcome measures on specific medical procedures.

 

This could undermine great progress made in a number of states to make

public hospital infection rates and other important quality of care

data. For example, earlier this year, Illinois enacted a mandatory

reporting bill for hospital-acquired infections, a law that would be

preempted if Congress passes S. 720.

 

CU is asking Senate HELP Committee leadership to add a provision in S.

720 clarifying the federal bill does not preempt state law requiring

reporting of infection rates and other patient safety and quality

information.

 

To enable consumers to voice their concerns on this legislation,

Consumers Union created a new web site www.StopHospitalInfections.org.

The site is designed to mobilize and educate the public on the danger

of hospital infections.

 

Hospitals should cure people, not make them sicker, " said Lisa

McGiffert, director of www.StopHospitalInfections.org. " Making

infection rates available to the public will motivate hospitals to

improve conditions and guarantee patient safety. We must not destroy

this important patient safety tool.

 

Hospital infections are a little-known but deadly problem:

 

--Hospital infections are the sixth leading cause of deaths in the U.S.

--Hospital infections claim approximately 90,000 lives per year.

--About two million patients contract infections unrelated to their

original condition during their stay in the hospital.

--One in every twenty people admitted to U.S. hospitals contract an

infection while under care.

--The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that

hospital acquired infections add $5 billion annually to direct patient

care costs.

 

Supporters of the pending federal legislation claim that by keeping

infection rates from the public, hospitals would be encouraged to

improve practices because their exposure to public scrutiny and

litigation would be reduced. But there is compelling evidence that

public disclosure of such data ultimately saves lives due to hospitals

responding to increased public awareness.

 

Where states have reported mortality rates at specific hospitals,

publicizing the information is credited with a significant drop in

mortality rates. For example, New York collects and reports mortality

rates following coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG),

identifying hospitals and surgeons.

 

The reports have been credited with prompting a significant drop in mortality.

Between 1989 and 1995, the first six years data was collected, death rates

following CABG fell from 3.52 deaths per 100 to 2.52. Even more striking, a few

years after the report was issued, some of the worst hospitals turned their

performance around completely.

 

Pennsylvania saw similar results following the publication of its own

CABG reports beginning in the early 1990s. Between 1991 and 1995, the

state documented a 22 percent decline in death rates following CABG

procedures.

 

Consumers Union is seeking public disclosure of hospital infection

rates nationwide. ìConsumers Union's new web site,

www.StopHospitalInfections.org, will give the public easy access to

vital consumer health information and a direct route to our public

officials, " McGiffert said.

 

" Consumers as well as employers have a stake in shining the spotlight on

hospitals, promoting competition among them based on quality of care, and making

them safer for patients. "

 

Consumers Union (CU), publisher of Consumer Reports, is an independent,

nonprofit testing and information organization serving only the

consumer. CU is a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about

products and services, personal finance, health nutrition, and other

consumer concerns. Since 1936, CUís mission has been to test products,

inform the public, and protect consumers.

 

 

 

 

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