Study: Half of Infection Deaths Linked Directly to Hospital Care
We've all heard those sayings - "Home is where the heart is" and the like. Judy Garland even proclaimed this sentiment in the classic movie The Wizard of Oz ("There's no place like..." well, you know the rest). Despite these common adages, when something goes wrong with our health, there is something about hospitals that seems to make us feel safe and secure (and for good reason). Hospitals are often necessary when we face challenges with our health, but what does homecare potentially have on hospital stays?
According to a Wall Street Journal article, a recently published study indicates that sepsis and pneumonia, two infections that can often be prevented with tight infection control practices in hospitals, killed 48,000 patients and added $8.1 billion to heath care costs in 2006 alone. The article goes on to say that researchers analyzed 69 million discharge records from hospitals in 40 states between 1998 and 2006; the length of stay and mortality rates for the infections didn't change substantially over time, the study found, and high infection rates persist. Click here to read more.