Hospital infections were included by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) in its list of "never events." Never events are preventable complications that arise in a hospital setting. When they occur, CMS has taken the hard-line stance that it will not reimburse hospitals for costs associated with such an event. A recent article by the American [...]
Hospital infections are an increasing problem in the U.S. According to a study published in Gastroenterology, the number of deaths from one such infection, Clostridium difficile infection (also called c diff or c. difficile), have increased from 2195 in 2002 to 7251 in 2009 - a 230% increase. C. Diff is now the 9th leading cause of [...]
Delayed diagnosis of hospital infections can lead to a progression of disease and an adverse outcome. Left untreated, infections can progress from a local problem to sepsis, a systemic response to the infection. With further progression, sepsis can turn to shock, organ failure and, ultimately, death. Likewise, a delay in treatment can make it necessary to [...]
Speak up and stay alive is all about your healthcare and the need for you to be an active participant in your healthcare. I recently met Pat Rullo, an author, speaker and trainer on health care issues and surviving hospital care. Her story is not unique. What is unique about her is that she is [...]
Hospital infections remain one of the dark secrets of American hospitals. Rather than becoming rarer, hospital infections seem to be more common. The bacteria Clostridium difficile, also called C. diff., has added to this developing danger in the last several years. USA Today reported that about 350,000 C. diff infections resulted in about 30,000 deaths nationwide in 2010. C [...]
One of the primary functions of a hospital is to provide adequate nursing staffing to monitor and treat patients. Both for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals have long attempted to cut costs by understaffing and, thereby overworking, their nursing staff. This cost-cutting (and corner-cutting) practice often has dire consequences for patients. A recent study points out one less-than-obvious consequence [...]
Clostridium difficile, or C. Diff., infections arise almost exclusively in the healthcare setting, a recent study finds. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 95% of C. Diff. infections arise in the healthcare settings, such as hospitals and nursing homes. The CDC specifically recognized that such facilities need to improve their infection [...]
The use of dirty surgical tools -- scalpels, trocars and other instruments contaminated with bodily fluids or tissues -- is an obvious source of hospital infection. A new study suggests that this problem is more widespread than previously thought. Read more here: http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/22/10471434-today-investigates-dirty-surgical-instruments-a-problem-in-the-or. Worse yet, surgeons and hospitals are essentially unregulated when it comes to these foul [...]