Hospital of Horrors?
Hospitals are supposed to be places where you get well. But these days, hospitals are often places where you get even sicker.
Over the past several years, the medical community has reluctantly acknowledged a growing trend: hospital in-patients acquiring serious - even deadly - infections. The CDC estimates that these hospital-acquired infections kill some 90,000 each year.
You might think that this only happens to people who were very sick and weak to begin with. But new research shows that what happens to you once you're in the hospital matters far more.
There's no denying that seriously ill patients with compromised immune systems are at higher risk. Factors like smoking, obesity and diabetes contribute to the equation as well.
But when researchers looked at all the contributing factors in post-surgery infection incidents in Pennsylvania hospitals, they found that hospital procedures and controls had the biggest impact: things like techniques for hair removal, people coming in and out of the operating room during surgery, and the duration of surgery.
It might seem surprising that there is so much variation in basic procedures. But that's nothing new. Consider this: previous research showed that on average, hospital doctors wash their hands between patients only 48% of the time.
Of course, sloppy staff practices aren't the only reason for rampant infection rates. Antibiotic resistance has a lot to do with it, too. Bacteria are getting stronger and stronger - and now, when a patient gets an infection, it's harder than ever to get rid of it.
As a patient, you may feel this is all out of your control. Right now, it's difficult to find out the infection rates at hospitals in your area. But that may be changing - Pennsylvania recently became the first state to issue infection data for individual hospitals, and activists hope other states will soon follow suit.
But there's still a lot you can do to protect yourself. If you're scheduled for surgery, you can certainly ask your surgeon for his or her personal post-op infection rate, and about surgical protocols for preventing infection. Organizations like Consumers Union's Stop Hospital Infections Campaign (www.stophospitalinfections.org ) and the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (www.hospitalinfection.org) provide a wealth of actionable information for consumers who are preparing for hospitalization or surgery.
One of the simplest things you can do is ask every doctor and nurse that approaches if they've washed their hands - that means a good 15 seconds of scrubbing. You may think they will be insulted - but remember that 48 percent average I cited above. And remember, as I've said before, any health care professional who isn't willing to discuss issues like these with a patient is a healthcare professional you don't want on your team.
Hopefully you won't ever have to spend a night in a hospital. But if you do, don't be afraid to be your own advocate. No hospital wants a patient to get an infection - but remember, no one cares as much about your health as you do.
