Proposed Law Hides Patient Safety, Hospital Infection Data

[Guest guest]

Comments?

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

PROPOSED LAW HIDES PATIENT SAFETY, HOSPITAL INFECTION DATA

FROM PUBLIC VIEW

 

http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/home_page/000414.html

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 29, 2003

 

Contact: Lisa McGiffert (512) 477-4431;

Earl Lui, (415) 431-6747 or Ami Gadhia

(202) 462-6262

 

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

¡§patient safety data¡¨ 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:

 

„h Hospital infections are the sixth leading cause of deaths in the

U.S.

„h Hospital infections claim approximately 90,000 lives per year.

„h About two million patients contract infections unrelated to their

original condition during their stay in the hospital.

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

infection while under care.

„h 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. ¡§Consumers 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, CU¡¦s mission has been to test

products, inform the public, and protect consumers.

 

 

Consumers Union Offices: Consumers Union OPI, New York - Washington

Office West Coast Regional Office - Southwest Regional Office -

Consumer Policy Institute