• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Bill Asks Hospitals to Report Infections

Posted on: Saturday, 11 March 2006, 15:00 CST

By Jim Killackey, The Daily Oklahoman

Mar. 11--An Oklahoma advocacy organization is urging lawmakers to pass a bill requiring state hospitals to annually disclose infection rates that can threaten patients' health. "Hospitals aren't intentionally trying to hurt patients. But there's room for improvement," said Hugh M. Robert, executive director of the Tulsa-based Oklahoma Center for Consumer and Patient Safety.

The nonprofit organization is concerned about infections and medication errors that can kill or hurt hospital patients. A state Senate bill authored by Sen. Tom Adelson, D-Tulsa, requires hospitals to provide infection data to the Oklahoma Health Department, which annually would publish the results. Adelson, a former state health secretary, said he's planning to attach his proposed legislation, SB 1098, as an amendment to another bill that would go to the Senate floor Monday or Tuesday. Caution urged Adelson told The Oklahoman that all state residents should be concerned about "hospital-acquired" infections that easily can occur at a surgical site, in a urinary tract or in the bloodstream. Knowing key information about hospital care, Adelson said, would both help patients and spur hospitals to have the lowest infection rates possible. Other vital hospital data, he said, involve the ratio of nurses to patients; how costs and bills are determined; what's the average patient stay and whether patients are customarily given antibiotics before surgical incisions are made. "Hospitals shouldn't be foreign places where patients feel helpless," the lawmaker said. Robert said Missouri lawmakers have passed a law requiring that state's hospitals to report when their patients get infections during hospital stays. Hospital action Craig W. Jones, president of the Oklahoma Hospital Association, said state hospitals already are "working hard to examine all their processes of care to ensure patients get the best care possible" without infections. "We realize that human beings who provide care aren't always perfect and that systems are not infallible," Jones said. But the association is against Adelson's bill. "We believe that proposed state legislation creates unnecessary confusion and fear among patients and adds costs to the state with very little return," Jones said. Medication errors, too, are one of the most common mistakes that occur in a hospital setting, Robert said. He said a recent Archives of Internal Medicine study found that one in five doses of medication dispensed at a select group of hospitals and nursing homes nationwide was either the wrong drug or the wrong dose, or given at the wrong time or to the wrong patient. The Tulsa-based advocacy organization advises patients to take measures on their own to avoid hospital infections and errors. Patients who are more involved with their medical care tend to get better results, Robert said. Avoid infection and risks Among recommendations: Ask a family member to be your advocate -- someone who can help get things done and speak up for you if you can't while hospitalized. Make sure your hospital's medical practitioners wear gloves and use specific skin antiseptic before handling your central-line tube. Make sure everyone cleans their hands before coming in contact with you. Elevate the head of the bed and follow specific treatment guidelines to prevent patients on ventilators from getting pneumonia. Keep track of your medical history and be sure that all health professionals involved in your care have all your important health information. Write down your medical history including any medical conditions you have, illnesses, immunizations, allergies, hospitalizations, medications and dietary supplements. If you need surgery, check the physician or surgeon's background through the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision in Oklahoma City. Make sure the surgeon specializes in the procedure you are going to have performed.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Daily Oklahoman

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

AMEX:PST,

Source: The Daily Oklahoman

More News in this Category